Carve your own path
by Lorelai Beckett
Summary: Harry Potter Next generation story. Mainly OC's, with Wotter family. Four American sixteen year olds come to a new country, new school with new people. the only familiarity they have, is each other. while they try to deal with heartbreak, pain, and loss.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sun had began to set, causing an orange hue to lighten the castle walls as the Hogwarts Express began to slow down on the rusty, littered rail tracks,

"So this is it, our new home for the next two years" spoke a girl with short, honey blonde hair as she glanced at the country fields roll by, and an old, run down, yet pleasant village to come into view

"way better than my place" sighed one of the boys as he carelessly ran a hand through his light brown hair, swinging his leg as he sat on the compartment sofa

"you haven't even looked at it Finn" 'Anna laughed, her brown eyes sparkling in amusement

"dont need too" Finn shrugged "Anything is better than that hell hold"

"you have your own quidditch pitch, swimming pool, gymnasium and your bedroom is the size of our old school, stop being ungrateful" Lorelai smirked, leaving her spot from the window, and moving the legs of the last boy in the compartment to make room to sit

"hey! I was lying down" he protested

"zip it Marcus, you were hogging the whole seat" Lorelai snapped, smacking him lightly

"remind me why I keep you around?" he glared, kicking her with his foot lightly

"I am the best damn thing that ever happened to you Haywood" Lorelai replied, wrapping her knitted black cardigan tightly around her slim frame

"I f-cking hate Englands weather.' Finn grumbled, rubbing his hands together in a failed attempt to warm them

"I dont think we are still in England" Anna pointed out, glancing at her watch

"what is it about this place and being so fricken secretive, Ilvermorny was never like this, at least we knew how to get there and didn't need a fricken train" Lorelai grumbled

"do you think we will fit in with everyone?" Anna suddenly questioned, a worried look gracing her features

"we dont ''fit in' with people Annie, others fit in with us" Finn smirked

"yeah, but that was in Ilvermony, we were there from the beginning, it was different, here, we are the newbies" Anna responded, nervously picking at her white over sized sweater

"Dont worry An, we will only be the newbies for a couple of days, we wont take long to establish ourselves, trust me" Lorelai assured her.

All further conversations, however, came to a halt as the train halted and the students began to get off the train.

"woah" Anna breathed, amazed at the castles size and mysterious appeal

"its definitely bigger than Ilvermorny" Marcus agreed, helping Anna and Lorelai with their night bags

"still smaller than Finns ego" Lorelai muttered under her breath, amazed, as she glanced up at the top of the castle

"ha, funny" Finn replied sarcastically

"FIRST 'EARS! O'ER H'RE" The four Americans jumped at the sound of a loud voice, that sounded as if it was being magnified by a loud speaker

"who-" Lorelai began

"is that?" Anna finished, pointed quite rudely at the giant bearded man in front of her

"the names Hagrid, yer lot aren't first 'ears" He responded gruffly, yet there was a edge of kindness and warmth that mellowed out his voice, and made one feel welcome

"no Sir, we are sixth year transfer students" Marcus spoke up

"oh, P'ofessor McGonagall warned me about yer. Told me to make sure yer found a carriage okay. Now, go to the carriages over there, and it will take yer to the castle, don't worry about the luggage, it will go to yer rooms" Hagrid explained

as the four sixteen year olds set off towards the carriages, they remained silent, all absorbed in their own thoughts, and how their previous conversation might be _very_ false

"come on guys, this ones free" Marcus spoke, breaking the silence, he helped the girls into the carriage before stepping in himself, Finn following him

"raise your hands if you are seriously worried" Anna whispered, toying with her nails nervously, a habit she did quite often in difficult situations.

The carriage was silent, as no one moved for a few seconds, and then, like lightening in the storm, all three remaining students hands shot up

"Thank Merlin I am not alone" Anna muttered, staring out the carriage window

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"You must be the new students from Ilvermorny" spoke a short man, with blonde hair and a kind, warming face

"yes Sir" Anna replied quietly, from her spot closest to him

"My name is Neville Longbottom, and I am the Head of Gryffindor House as well as the Herbology teacher" Neville smiled, stretching his hand for Finn and Marcus to shake

"there are four houses, similar to the ones in your previous school, if I am correct. Gryffindor is for the brave, Ravenclaw is for those who are smart and use their knowledge to enhance their understanding, Slytherin takes those who are most cunning, and only those who are dedicated will find their way into Hufflepuff" Neville explained "as you are all joining the sixth years, we have decided to have you all sorted privately, to avoid any ruckus, you will be sorted in my office, and then, join the rest of the students in your respected houses, the prefect of your house will continue to show you around the castle and help you in any way you may need, follow me, please"

nervously, they followed Neville to his office, where they sat on an old red couch

"this is the sorting hat, you will put it on your head and it will determine your house" Neville explained as he took a dusty looking hat out from his cupboard

"who would like to go first?"

Finn raised his hand, shrugging as if to say, 'better get this over and done with'

the sorting hat was placed on his head and after two minutes of silence it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

causing the rest of us to jump

"congratulations, I am sure you will make an excellent Gryffindor"

the same was done for the remaining group of teenagers, and then Neville spoke up

"you all are in my house, while means you are my responsibility. Now, I have heard some... facts, about your behaviour in your previous school, and let me warn you now, Hogwarts will not tolerate such blatant disrespect for the rules, you will all been severely punished if any of you step out the line, keep this in mind" his warm and welcoming appearance changed in 0.7 seconds as he raised this issue, scaring us silently and making the scar below his ear become more prominent, however once he finished, the smile returned as he spoke

"the prefects of your house are Selena Winston, and Lucas Bishop. The schools head girl is Molly Weasley, and Frank Longbottom is Hogwarts head boy, they are all also Gryffindor, and I assure you, will be extremely welcome. Now, you all must hungry, so lets go to the Great Hall'

"Thoughts?" Ann muttered, walking along with her friends

"we're probably screwed, I mean the guys kid is the fricken headboy!" Finn sighed

"I am just glad we are all in the same house" Marcus shrugged

"yeah, full of pretentious over achievers" Finn grumbled

"oh for f-kes sake, you haven't met them yet, shut up Finn" Lorelai replied

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"This is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, where you shall spend the majority of your time for the next two years. The password is 'Hippogriff' it changes every two weeks, and you can receive the new password from your prefects or heads. I hope you all settle in well" Neville smiled warmly as he dropped them off outside the common room, waving, he left the four Americans.

"this is our last time to run" Marcus joked, although there was a hint of seriousness in his voice

"Come on guys, we are supposed to be Gryffindor's. Whatever the f-ck that means" Finn spoke, rocking on the heels of his feet

"for some reason, that doesnt make me wanna stay any more" Ann replied sarcastically

"come on guys, it cant be that bad. We are the cool ones, remember? We own schools" Lorelai pep talked her friends,

"I have a feeling this is going to be different" Anna answered, braiding the ends of her hair

"well, we will just have to find out for ourselves" was all Lorelai responded with before speaking the password and entering the colourful and warm Gryffindor common room.

Their home for the next two years.

The interior of the common room was breathtaking. Red and gold invaded their eyes as they looked around, the room was full, and loud. Students of all ages were scattered around in groups, catching up with each other.

However,the most prominent group were the ones in the centre, right in front of the fireplace. There sat seventeen students, all seated on various sofas and armchairs

"they look like a bigger version of us" Marcus spoke up, after analyzing the room

"yeah, you're the blonde chick in the corner" smirked Lorelai, sitting on the chair near the window

"well, you and I seem to get on well" Marcus replied smoothly, pointing at the boy who was currently talking to the blonde under discussion, a muscular, blond, with an aristocrat look and defining features.

"oh piss off" Lorelai grumbled half heartedly, watching as Finn sat on the floor in front of her arm chair, Ann lay on the floor, resting her head on Finns legs and Marcus sat on the arm of Lorelai's seat.

"everyone here is too British" Finn whined

".. and you were confused when you failed all your fourth year tests?" Lorelai replied, sticking her tongue out at her brother in all but blood

"why do I keep you around?" Finn grumbled

'Oh I am the best damn thing that happened to you and you know it, West' snapped Lorelai, lightly kicking his shoulder. Being ever so grown up, Finn resorted to sticking his tongue out at his red headed friend.

"where are we going to sleep?" Anna asked, glancing around the room

"the dorms are probably up the stairs, we can wait and see where everyone else goes" Marcus assured her

"this place looks full of prestigious show offs" Finn sighed, glancing around

"thats because of the accents. Stop judging a book by its cover Finn" Anna commanded

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"we should probably head up" Lorelai commented, rubbing her grey eyes tiredly as she watched the common room slowly empty

"its only 11 though" Finn said, glancing up at the huge grandfather clock near the window

"you do realise school has started, right?" Anna asked, staring at Finn incredulously

"oh really? I was wondering why I suddenly felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body, and what the sudden breeze that was chilling my bones was" Finn replied sarcastically, playfully glaring at his friend

"stop being a drama queen Finn" Lorelai spoke lazily, dangling her feet over the side of the chair

" _i prefer the term drama_ king, thank you very much' responded Finn

"oh shut up guys, lets go up, its almost empty" Marcus spoke, successfully ending any further fights or conversations

"night" the four friends parted ways to go to their dorms waving at each other as they went

"6th year dorm.. this must be it" Lorelai spoke up as they reached the second landing and began looking around

"do we knock...?" Anna asked, she didnt complete her sentence, though, as Lorelai had already opened the dorm door and walked in the room

"well.. thats one way to do it" she muttered under her breath  
"hey, my names is Anna, and this is Lorelai.. umm.. we are sixth years." Anna began nervously

"hello, I am Selena, this is Dominique, and this is Roxanne, where are you from?' the difference in accent was obvious, you could hear the difference between the sharp british words and the softer, laid back American pronunciation.

"Ilvermorny, in America" Anna responded

"oh wow! Thats so cool!" Roxanne exclaimed "how come you're here though?"

"ohh" at this, the two girls stared at each other, uneased

"change of scenery" Lorelai shrugged finally, busying herself by looking through her trunk for pajamas

"which bed is ours?" Anna asked

"oh well Dom normally takes the one next to the window, Sel takes the one closest to the door, she needs to see James" Rox teased, "and I crash on the one near the bathroom"

that left two beds, one underneath the window, and the other in between Dominique and Selena. Lorelai and Anna silently picked up their trunks and dragged them to their beds. Lorelai taking the one under the window, they didnt even discuss it, it was common knowledge in the group of four that Lorelai loved waking up to the sun shining bright

"do we usually have lessons on the first day back?" Lorelai asked, changing into a pair of black pajama pants and grey top

"umm, not usually, they normally let students relax on the first day and sort out their time tables" Selena replied, brushing her long ombre hair

"thats great, tomorrow Finn, Mark, you and I should definitely check out the village we saw!" Lorelai grinned, looking at her best friends, grey eyes dancing in amusement

"Hogsmede? We aren't allowed there, only on weekends that the school decides on. We aren't allowed outside the castle at all, unless we get permission from Professor McGonagall, thats the rule"

"I prefer the word 'guidelines' " Lorelai stated matter of factly, nodding her head as she turned to sort out the belongings of her trunk

"I like her" Dominique snorted from her place laying lazily on her bed, tossing a paper ball in the air

"Lore, maybe they are right, do you seriously want to get in trouble on your first day back?" Anna reasoned, walking up to her friend

"remember when you were fun?" Lorelai pouted,

"sorry darling, I hope you still love me" Anna mocked, pinching her friends inflated cheeks

"finee, we wont go" Lorelai finally gave in

"okay, lets just agree that if our roommates turn out to be cannibals and demand that one dies for the other to survive, you die' Finn said, standing in front of the door marked 'Sixth Year Dormitory: Boys' underneath, was the carved names of four boys: Jordan, Benjamin, James, and Fred

"what?! When the hell did we decide that?" Marcus yelped, momentarily forgetting that the scenario under discussion was very unlikely to occur

"just now, duh" stated Finn, grinning at the exasperated look on Marcus's face

"stop being a douche and get your arse in the dorm" Marcus sighed, gesturing to the wooden door

"you're a meanie" pouted Finn, finally opening the big shiny, brown door

"greeting all, we come in peace" Finn joked, making the alien sign with his fingers

"ignore him, we are waiting on test results" Marcus apologised, flicking the back of his best friends head

"hey!" Finn protested, following Marcus towards the other boys

"I am Marcus, this is Finn, whats your names?" Marcus asked politely, sticking his hand out

'I am James, this is Fred, and thats Ben" replied a boy with spiky raven black hair and big brown eyes. As he addressed the other two boys he pointed towards a broad shouldered, red headed boy with blue eyes and freckles and a shorter, skinny boy with blonde hair and dark blue eyes, respectively

"well, we are going to be bunking here for the next two years, so lets lay down the laws, don't ever touch my pudding" Finn piped up from his spot next to Marcus

"I apologize for... that" Marcus sighed, gesturing to the green eyed American standing next to him

"Don't worry about it, we have one of them here too, his names Fred" James smirked

"aww, you know you love me Jimmy boy" Fred grinned, ruffling his cousins hair

and that was how the group of four spent their first day in Hogwarts

Authors Note:

woah, 2600 words! Thats so much for me... anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this, and want more. I just wanna tell everyone from the get go, that there will not be any major plot twists, well, its not planned. I dunno what goes on in brain though.

Anyways, sorry about the language thingy. I wanted to try and make it as American as possible, but I am British, so like, it wasn't easy. I literally had my American friend on the phone, asking her to translate for me!

Anyways, as usual, PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The sound of birds chirping was the first sound the children residing in Hogwarts heard, as they awoke from a peaceful and restful slumber

Lorelai's POV:

I woke up, groggy and willing myself not to just close my eyes and resume my previous peaceful and dreamless slumber, something that was not a common occurrence for me. Glancing around, I froze for a few seconds, trying to remember where I was, the room I was in was not a familiar one, nor was the feeling of the bed I was in. then, I suddenly came to the realisation of where I was at. Hogwarts.

Groaning unintelligent swear words under my breathe, I sat up and slipped my bare feet into a pair of grey fluffy boots that lay next to my bed, I was sure Anna had put them there, as she usually did.

I glanced around the room and saw that all the other dormitory residents were still asleep, taking advantage of this, I slipped into the washroom and began to get ready for the day.

After washing up and slipping on a pair of black skinny jeans and a grey t shirt, I tiptoed over to Anna's bed, where I could see a lock of her blonde wavy hair sticking out of the golden curtains, and slipping inside, sitting next to her sleeping form

"Anna, get up" I whispered, shaking her

"hhmmmm.. g'way" Anna grumbled incoherently

"Anna, its fricken eight in the morning, get your lazy arse out of bed" I replied, shaking her more

"Piss off Lore!" she whisper-shouted, kicking me silently

"Annabelle Grace Rhodes! Language! My, my, if only your mother heard what a foul mouthed daughter she had.. oh, I couldnt imagine her shame!" I mock gasped, smirking as her friend began to fidget in anger

"the only thing she is gonna find out is that her daughter has the WORST friend on earth and get me outta here!" Anna glared, giving up on sleeping and sitting up to hit her friend with a pillow

"aww, you know you love me" I grinned, unaffected by her anger

"sad story of my life" Anna sighed, dropping her head back on her crumpled pillow

I wasnt having any of that "no, no, no! You get up!" I exclaimed, picking her head back up

"noooo" she protested, desperately trying to sleep in mid air

"Anna! Come on! Dont you miss the guys?" I asked, still holding her head

"no, the guys are annoying" she grumbled

"well, so am I. Now go get ready, you have five minutes, I wanna go down for breakfast"

"I hate you" she moaned, getting up and out of bed

"Love ya too!" I shouted behind her, grinning as I walked out of the dormitory

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Finn's POV

I woke up, refreshed, for the first time for a while. This summer had been so hectic, what with moving to another country and school, I didn't realise how tired I was until just now. Lifting my arm, I glanced at the watch on my wrist which Anna had magically enchanted to work in Hogwarts. It read 8: 26, grinning, I picked up my pillow and threw it with very precise aim, if I do say so myself, at Mark's face

"what the f-ke!" he shouted-groaned, turning over and throwing the pillow back at me, albeit more lazily.

"get up! Its 8 30! dont be an arse" I smirked, getting off my bed and walking over to Mark's, lying on his face, I spoke again "come on! Its a great day, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, somewhere in the distance cute bunnies are hopping in the woods, all woodlandy..." I wasn't able to complete my speech, which I had no idea where was heading, as Marcus kicked my face

"OW! Dude, not cool!" I exclaimed, gripping the side of my now-bruised face

"well you were being a douche" Marcus grumbled, sitting up

"I was _trying_ to get you up!" I protested, smirking at Marks face, he looked sooo close to exploding

"well, I am up now" he groaned, getting out of bed and heading the the washroom

"i get first dibs" he suddenly grinned, rushing into the washroom before I could respond

"jerk" I grumbled under my breathe, knowing he would take extra time to piss me off

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Anna's POV

after I had showered and changed into a white t shirt and blue jeans, Lore whisked me away downstairs before I could even braid my hair

"whats the rush?" I asked, unable to be angry, there was something about Lorelai's excitement, it didn't happen often, but when it did, it was contagious

"I wanna see my boys!" she replied, pulling me harder.

Lorelai often called Finn and Mark 'my boys', it first annoyed them to no end "We are men! Not _boys!_ "they would protest, but after a while, they got used to it, and even, though they would deny it, enjoyed it. Whenever they were in a room Lorelai walked in demanding to know the whereabouts of 'her boys' they would immediately answer.

"they arent going anywhere! Slow down before you rip off my arm" I told her, she slowed down once she noticed me wincing at the grip of her hand around my arm, but still walked at a faster pace than the average human

"there you are!" Finn exclaimed from his place lazily relaxing on the arm chair, feet swung over the arm

"sorry, but the trumpet I usually use to wake up Anna was in my trunk" Lorelai smirked, mock glaring at me,

"I am not _that_ bad" I protested lightly, sitting one the other arm of Finns chair, next to his head

" _anymore_ " finished Lore "I remember our first year in Ilvermorny, it was terrible, you were so bad" she shuddered, memories coming back

I did the mature thing, and stuck out my tongue

"anyways, I checked with James, he said they serve breakfast at the Hall from 5 to 10" Marcus spoke, picking at the sofa on which he lay on's thread

"great, lets go grab a bit to eat from the Hall and then we can explore?" I suggested, getting up and lightly flicking Finns caramel brown hair

"sure" the others shrugged, following my lead outside of the common room

"where now?" I asked, coming to a halt as I realised I had no idea where to go

"i remember walking straight" Marcus replied, scratching his head as he thought back to last nights events

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Marcus's POV:

"YOU SAID TO GO F-CKING RIGHT!" Lorelai shouted, trying to contain her laughter as she pretended to look angry at Finn

"well, I thought we had to!" Finn exclaimed, bending over to catch his breathe

"well your thoughts almost made us get eaten by spiders" Anna replied

"thats one way to start the morning" I laughed, adrenaline rushing through my body from our morning antics

"yeah, it just got me hungry, lets go eat!" Lorelai spoke, walking towards the wooden doors that lead to the Great Hall

we walked into the hall quietly, mainly because we were exhausted from running so early in the morning, however, partially because we were still all amazed by the size of the Hall, it was truly magnificent. And the ceiling, that was currently clear blue with dots of clouds, looked magical

we sat in the middle of the bench, as it was really full, and began to grab our preferred food.

I, myself, picked up some toast and egg, and smiled slightly as I saw Lorelai head straight for the coffee. Typical Lore, I thought

"any plans for today?" I asked

"I wanna go to Hogsmede, but Anna wont let me!" Lorelai pouted, mock glaring at her sister in all but blood

"whats Hogsmede?" Finn asked, shoving toast down his mouth, the guy had a stomach the size of Hogswarts

"the old, run down village we saw when we were nearing the castle" Anna responded, albeit reluctantly

"that looked sick!" Finn replied, thinking back to yesterday

"we arent going!" Anna immediately said

"why not?!" Finn asked ,outraged

"because, the girls in our Dormitory said we werent allowed to without the heads permission"

"... and thats stopped us, since when?" Finn replied, confused

"Findley Austin West! You _cannot_ get in trouble on the _first_ day!" Anna scolded, putting down her porridge spoon, causing Lorelai and I to burst into laughter

" _Austin?_ " snickered James, as he walked towards the table with his friends

" _gets me everytime_ " _L_ orelai laughed, gasping for breath

" _Au-Austin, Find-dley!_ " I snickered, desperately trying to not fall off my seat

"zip it Haywood" grumbled Finn, angrily stabbing his eggs

"you know, I may talk shit about my parents, but at least they gave me a name I don't mind sharing" Lorelai smirked, sipping her coffee

"I hate you" pouted Finn

"no, you don't" Lorelai grinned, flicking her red hair haughtily

"seriously, who names their kid Austin?" James repeated from his spot next to Lorelai at the table

"Austin isn't bad. Its f-king F _indley_ that gets me everytime"

grinned Lore, pouring herself another cup of coffee

"what do you want, Potter?" grumbled Finn, still pissed off at being made fun of

"nothing, just taking it upon myself to make sure you feel welcomed in Hogwarts" James shrugged, un fazed by Finns anger

"well, thank you for your concern, but we are good" Anna replied, ever so politely as usual.

"we can show you around the castle if you want, give you the official Wotter tour" Fred told them, sitting down next to Dominique who was eating some toast, and taking her toast

" _Wotter?_ " snorted Lorelai, glancing at the family

"yeah, Weasley and Potter merged" Fred glared, but his eyes told that he realised it was a bit weird

"and you laughed at Findley" Finn said, raising his eyebrows.

Cue Lore and I laughing

" _Man, stop doing that!_ " Lorelai gasped, trying to control her laughter and breathe

"its not _that_ funny!" Finn protested

"dude, its pretty funny" I told him, patting his back

"you are all meanies" Finn grumbled, returning to stabbing his eggs

"okay, back to the whats important. Are we going to this Hogsmede place?" Lorelai questioned, pulling her red hair into a messy bun

"I told you guys that we shouldn't!" Anna exclaimed, outraged

"one opinion" Lorelai waved off, glancing at Finn and I

"I should never have told you about Hogsmede!" Selena exclaimed, shaking her head

"don't worry, we won't hold it over your head" Lorelai smirked, amusement in her eyes "Finn, Mark, you up for it?"

"definitely!" Finn confirmed, perking up"dude?" he asked, looking at me

"... umm... " I hesitated "why not?" I agreed, shrugging

"Mark! You're supposed to keep them _out_ of trouble!" Anna glared

"aww, come on Anna-banana, it will be fun!" Finn convinced

"fine, but if we get expelled, I am kicking all your arses" Anna sighed

"yaaay" Finn and Lorelai cheered, high fiving each other in excitement

"do you lot even know how to get there?" James asked, amused at Lorelai and Finns happy dance

"no, it can't be that hard though, its really close to the castle, innit?" Finn replied,

"well yeah, but you can't seriously be thinking of waltzing out the castle?" Roxanne said, shocked

"well,why not?" Finn questioned, pouring himself a cup of coffee

"because you will be expelled before you can say Quidditch!" Roxanne exclaimed

"like they will expel us for sneaking out" Lorelai snorted, bemused at the accusation

"I dunno Lore.. Professor Longbottom _did_ warn us yesterday about being on a better behaviour" Anna hesitated

"oh great" Lorelai groaned "we just convinced her!"

"Anna, come on, they can't expel us for such a small thing, plus, you don't have to worry, Professor Neville was probably talking about us, more than you, you are a goody two shoes, you won't have to worry about being expelled" I convinced her

"No guys, I am sorry, I know I agreed, but these guys are right, you can't risk it" Anna replied adamantly

the three of us groaned, knowing we had lost. When Anna made her mind up about something, especially when it involved keeping us out of trouble, there was no point going against it. She may be tiny, but she was deadly

Lorelais POV:

After Anna made her decision to suck all the fun out of lives, we finished our meals before heading back to ours dormitories, deciding that it would be best to unpack (Once again, Anna's doings) before exploring the castle, and, hopefully, avoiding any man eating spiders or other species.

Although I wouldn't admit it to anyone, over the last few hours I had come to the realization that maybe, just maybe, Hogwarts wasn't so bad. I mean, I did miss Ilvermorny, and the freedom we had there, but there was something about Hogwarts, that made me feel, for the first time in a _very_ long time, safe. And happy.

Hogwarts had this sense of solace, and serenity, that I was not accustomed to. However, no matter how comfortable I was at Hogwarts, I stilled missed Ilvermorny, a lot. I missed the bright, warm American mornings. I missed walking outside and sitting on a tree that overlooked the whole town at the bottom of the hill. I spent six years of my life in Ilvermorny, and sixteen years in America, so I suppose missing it, and feeling nostalgic when I thought of my old home, was normal, but that didn't make me feel any better.

"Isn't this your t shirt?" Anna asked, pulling me out of trail of thoughts, as she tossed a navy blue band t shirt at me

"bloody hell Ans! I have been looking for this for _monthsl_ how the hell did you end up with it, you don't even like 'Nights to Remember" I exclaimed, taking the top off my head, and glancing at it. I brought this top in fourth grade, after Finn, Mark and I snuck out the castle to see our favourite band "Nights to Remember"

"I dunno, I must of stuffed it in my trunk while tidying up once" she shrugged, resuming her unpacking

"well I am going to go change into it!" I grinned, excited

"what about unpacking?" she shouted after me, as I rushed into the washroom

"we have all year!" I shouted in response, putting the t shirt over my black jeans

"Lorelai Katherine Beckett, you are _not_ leaving your unpacking!" Anna scolded, glaring at me

"of course not, _mom_ " I groaned, rolling my eyes at Anna's motherly instincts

"don't roll your eyes at me, you always leave your unpacking, last year you didn't even have to pack at the end of the year!" she spoke, folding her socks. Shes crazy

"so what? I was saving time! _In fact,_ last year we were late because of _you,_ not me!" I grinned, further aggravating her

"Stop messing around, Lorelai!" Anna glared

this freaked me out, I mean, I know Anna was a control freak, but she has been really been snappy the last few days. It was worrying me, she was never this uptight usually

"Anna" I began quietly, sitting down next to her "is everything okay?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, stiffly

"well.. you have been really.. well, snappy" I began for lack of better words, wincing "and I am worried, you are never normally this uptight"

Anna simply stared at me for a few minutes, her body tensed, eyes staring at a single piece of clothing, as if she was recalling her previous memories

"you are right" she sighed, shoulders slumping "I have been, and I am sorry. I will stop"

"well, thats nice" I started "but, why don't you tell me whats going on, so I can help you?" I suggested, patting her back in a comforting manner

" _you got expelled_ " she finally whispered, voice cracking

this shocked me. I didn't think for a minute, that she would be worried about that. It happened months ago

"you are upset about Finn, Mark and I getting expelled?!" I asked, trying to not sound as shocked as I felt

"yes. And I know, it happened ages ago, and I should stop worrying about it, but I _can't_. you lot got expelled, for something that wasn't even your fault. And this is going to affect your future. And we are so close to NEWTS, and we have moved to another country. We are so far away from America, and I am worried!" she ranted, tears falling down her face

"oh Anna" I sighed, pulling her into a hug. Which wasn't common for me, I _hate_ hugs

"Look, I know that getting kicked out wasn't the best thing ever, but we all knew it was coming, deep down. I mean, we had done so much shit over the years, Ms. Conners was just _looking_ for an excuse to kick us out, she saw the opportunity, and took. And about it effecting our future, well, there is nothing we can do about it. We will work it out, Finn and Mark wanna go pro, and I doubt any Quidditch team will give a flying f-ck about their schooling, or lack of. And well, like I said, I will find a way. What happened, happened, and I have to deal with the outcome" I calmly spoke, it hurt to see her so distraught

"I know, I know, you are right. I just, I _hate_ this! We were _great_ in Ilvermorny. We owned that place, and now we are in a new school, new country, with new teachers, and new foods, and I fucking hate the smell of my laundry!" she complained, exasperated

staring at her, I had to bit my tongue to resist the urge to laugh

"well, An" I began, keeping my face as serious as possible "I am sure the house elves wont mind changing the washing powder, if you ask nicely, of course" this was too much, my bottom lip started to shake, but thank Merlin, she didn't notice

"hey, I am upset, stop making fun of me" she glared, but I could tell she was happy, and had started to calm down, thank Merlin.

"sorry sweets, you are just so damn funny when you are freaking out, especially over irrational things like washing" I chuckled, hugging her

"Lore?" she whispered, hugging me back

"yeah?"

"we will be okay, won't we?" she asked, staring at me with her big eyes

sighing, I bit my lip, thinking over all the years her, Fin, Mark and I had spent together, messing around and getting into trouble "yeah" I eventually breathed "we will, we always are" I smiled, referring to previous events

"I miss him" she whispered, sadly, glancing at her hands, almost unsure of bringing it up

"me too" I replied "so damn much"

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AUTHORS NOTE:

ooo, I love a good cliff hanger, especially when I write the book. Anyways, I literally have no direction, as to where this is heading. Literally, half this chapter was from my dream, but, I hope you enjoyed.

PLEASE REVIEW!

"


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3:

2 weeks later

2 weeks flew by in no time for the children of Hogwarts, especially for the OWL and NEWT students, who seemed to feel as if summer was months ago

meanwhile, in the sixth year, the four Americans had settled down considerably well, and had formed a friendship with the Wotter clam, who were too welcoming for their own good

0000

"I NEED A BREAK!" Finn exclaimed, dropping dramatically and resting his head on Anna's lap, successfully distracting her from her relaxing break, leaning against the tree near the Black Lake and reading her book

"Finn, we have been at school for _two_ weeks, you aren't even a NEWT student, stop complaining" she replied, raising her eyebrow at her friends antics

"its too much" he whined, covering his eyes for a dramatic effect

"Finn, stop pissing An off, maybe if you actually did your homework instead of letting it all pile up until McGonagall threatened to cancel your Hogsmede's trip, you wouldn't be in this situation" Marcus said, telling off his best friend

'"you sound like my mom" Finn grumbled, glaring at Marcus

"yeah, because your mom gives a f-ck about your homework" snorted Marcus

Finn went quiet, as if contemplating Marcus's response, and trying to find a way to retort, he gave up, finally, and shrugged "true"

as per usual, the Wotter members currently present, squirmed around, awkwardly, as they always did, when the group of four brought up their families.

"are you sure your families are that bad?" Rose began quietly, unsure of whether it was a suitable question

the four looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Lorelai, was the first to recover, and replied

"Rosie, trust me, they are. Well Anna's aren't, Anna's parents are saints" she went quiet, contemplating the best response, so Finn continued

"my dads a pompous prat, and mom's too afraid to pick between her money making husband and son. Marcus's mum is too full of regret, seeing as Marcus meant the end of her modeling career, and his dad is too busy keeping away from his wives crazy diets to see whats going on with his son... and well, Lore's parents..." here, he trailed off, not sure how to describe them, which was shocking, seeing as Finn _always_ had something to say

"put it this way, if the devil met my parents, he would retire, in fear of seeing them again." Lorelai finished, a voice of finality in her voice

"I don't get it though, how could your parents not care?" Lily asked, almost unable to comprehend it

"because Lils, their reputation and values mean too much to them. They care to much about money" Marcus explained, carefully leaving out the fact that Lorelai's parents were blood supremacists.

"thats horrid!" Rose gasped

"its cool, we have gotten used to it" Lore shrugged, indifferently

"how the hell do you get used to that?" James demanded

"James, leave it" Anna warned, noticing her friends frustrations about the topic. It wasn't any ones fault, it was just not a great topic for the three

"sorry" they muttered, ashamed

"don't sweat it" Finn replied, although his smile seemed a bit forced

desperate to change the topic, Fred turned to face James

"Cuz, we haven't pulled a prank in a week, people are going to think we are losing our touch!"

"Merlin forbid that happens" Rose muttered under her breath, earning a glare from Fred, as he continued

"any ideas?" Fred finished

"nah Mate, I mean how do we top the Slytherin Pigs" James spoke

"Slytherin Pigs?" Finn asked, curious, as he ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself about a hair cut

"Fred, Al and I charmed sixty pigs to go around oinking, Slytherin sucks, last year, for the Ravenclaw- Slytherin match" James explained

Finn and Lorelai glanced at each other, amused, before saying "Amateurs" in unison

" _excuse me?_ " Fred cried, offended that his pranking skills had been questioned

"sorry, its just, Pigs oinking, not that impressive, bit of a cliché, really" Lorelai shrugged, unamused, knowing this would further aggravate the red head

"oh, because you know _so_ much about pranking?" he glared

"actually" Anna started "Finn, Mark and Lore were the best pranksters in Ilvermorny anyone had seen" she supplied

"thanks Ann's" Finn grinned, proudly

"no problem" she replied, and then seemed to remember he was annoying her and kicked him off her lap

"okay, fine, name your best prank" Fred glared, challenging them

"oh definitely the one we pulled on Professor Marge" Finn spoke confidently

"oh that was brilliant!" snorted Lore, grinning at the memory

"what did you do?" Fred asked curiously, unable to stay angry when a prank was being discussed

"turned her classroom into a giant tea party. The ceiling was covered in pink confetti, you couldn't even make out that it was stone. We covered the board in glitter, and the floor in confetti, we put white frilly clothes on the tables and charmed them so every time someone knocked them, it started singing an off key version of 'hot cauldron full of love', it was brilliant" Finn snickered

"the time we turned the dining room into a skating arena was pretty cool too' Lorelai spoke

"and the time we replaced the bludgers for balls filled with slime" Marcus reminisced

"I liked the one where we charmed everyone so they could only speak through bubbles, personally" Anna told them

"okay, fine, maybe you lot were good" Fred grumbled

"thanks Weasley, that means a lot" Joked Lorelai, obviously not looking for Fred's approval

"my opinions usually do" Fred solemnly replied, choosing to ignore the sarcasm

"you lot sound like you had a lot of fun in Ilvermorny" Scorpius commented

"we did, especially on weekends" Marcus replied

"why weekends?" Rose asked, curious, she seemed to fascinated by the over seas school

"well, Ilvermorny wasn't a proper boarding school, so, as long as we had our parents permission, we were allowed to go home for the weekend. Usually, we would either convince our parents to sign the slips, or we would get this cool seventh year to forge their signatures, then not go home and hang out for the whole weekend, just screwing around" Lorelai explained

"and your parents never wondered where you were?" Rose asked with disbelief

"yup"

"bloody hell" Rose muttered, causing the rest to laugh

"we still had the best times during the weekend. Two whole days to do whatever the f-ck we wanted" Finn grinned, repositioning himself so his head was on Anna's lap, she allowed it this time, running her hand through his brown mane

"what did you lot do?" Roxanne asked, always up for a story about mischief

"we would usually spend the two days roaming the cities and villages near the Castle, blowing our parents cash on expensive hotels and generally being idiots" Finn replied "once, we decided to spray paint the abandoned warehouse near one of the villages, which led us to being chased by like four police men at 3 in the morning"

"why the hell would you paint a warehouse at 3 in the morning?" James asked

"we were piss drunk, thats why." Lorelai snorted, resting her back against Marcus, who was leaning against a tree, thumb wrestling with Finn

"you got drunk at 16?" Rose exclaimed,

"no, we got piss drunk at 13" Lorelai corrected

"but, thats so young!" Lily gasped

"well... yeah, but it was different in America, the teachers were oblivious, and the kids didn't give a f-ck. Infact, I am sure it was a seventh year who gave me my first drink when I was 12" Lorelai explained, freaked by the stares the British group were giving her

"wow, I can't imagine getting drunk at 12" sighed Fred "even I am not that hardcore"

"so you lot have never had a drink?" Finn asked, in disbelief

"well, Fred, Dom, Rox and I had a drink this summer, but only like, a bottle, between the four of us, not enough to get us drunk" James replied

"your parents must be proud" Lorelai snorted, tickling Marcus feet

"is that a problem?" James glared, defensive

"calm down, tiger" Lorelai replied lazily "It wasn't an insult. It was a statement. You don't drink, your parents must be proud."

"well, some of us actually want to make our parents proud" James retorted, not backing down

"...the f-ck is your problem?!" Lorelai jumped, sitting up straight and glaring daggers at James "I made a statement, why the f-ck do you feel the need to turn it into a f-cking fight?"

"I wasn't causing a fight, I made a statement too, maybe, some of us actually feel proud when our parents feel proud of us. Or at least, can make them proud of us. Maybe, thats why you gave up, because, no matter what you do, they continue to hate you"James smirked,

"Go – to-hell, Asshole" Lorelai spat, standing up and stomping away

as she walked away, her red hair swinging side to side, catching the light as it went, the anger in James's eyes evaporated, and were replaced with sorrow

"James-" Rose began, disappointed, but she didn't have a chance to finish

"the f-ck is your problem, Potter?" Finn glared, now standing up along with the other two

James didn't reply, instead, he continued to stare at the ground miserably,

"stay the hell away from Lore, and the rest of us" Finn growled, stomping off

"wow, I was sure that would end with James having a bloody nose" Anna sighed, glancing at her angry friend, marching towards the castle "Mark, we should go'

"yeah, come on" Mark spoke, not before sending a glare at James

"I didn't mean it like that"

"you took it too far, James"

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Annas POV

"Lore!" I shouted, we had been searching the castle for fifteen minutes, looking for our angry red headed friend, and no luck. I had checked the washrooms, dorm, common room, and the great hall, as well as a bunch of empty class rooms, along with Finn and Mark, and I still couldn't find her

"should we check the tower?" Finn muttered, his anger still hadn't subdued since the event, and I was worried he would turn around and find James

"yeah, there is no harm in that" I replied, climbing the stairs to the astronomy tower.

Correction: there was a harm, there are to many bloody stairs

"Lorelai! I just climbed all those fricken stairs to find you, so I swear to Merlin, if you are not up here, when I find you, I'ma going to kill you!" I shouted, once I reached the top, slightly out of breathe.

Okay, I was panting dog

thank Merlin, Lorelai was up there, her back to us, as she stared down at the ground below

"you didn't have to climb all those stairs" she replied, quietly, keeping her eyes glued to the ground

"I was worried about you" I told her, standing next to her

"why?"

"why? Because you and James had a fight, and you stormed off" I reminded her, confused

"oh, that, don't worry about it Anne, I don't care" she shrugged, I sighed. I hated it when Lorelai got into these funks, she acted like she was one hundred percent okay, and that she wasn't upset. She would bury her feelings in a hole, and become with carefree, emotionless void

"you sure?" I pressed

"positive" she smiled, momentarily glancing at me, before returning to staring at the sunset.

'okay' I smiled weakly, glancing worriedly at Marcus and Finn, they grimaced, shrugging, as they walked towards us. Finn wrapping his arm around Lore's waist, as Marcus did the same with me, I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder, enjoying the sunset with my best friends. My family.

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Marcus's POV:

"are you worried about the girls, as well?" I asked, as I walked through the halls with Finn, dodging all the teenies running to their classes

"you mean because one is an emotional wreck and the other is an emotionless wreck?" Finn guessed, narrowly missing a third year, who was rushing to his class, muttering the directions to make a forgetful potion

"hey!" I began, trying to defend the two "... thats pretty true" I sighed, not being able to refute it

"well, to answer your question, yeah, I am worried, but I don't see how we can help them"

"I just... I wanna do something, help them. And I can't find out how to!" I replied, frustrated as I combed my hands through my hair

"Mate, I don't think we can help them this time, its just something they are going to have to deal with, we _all_ have to deal with" Finn muttered, correcting himself and trying not to be heard by the masses that filled the great hall, as we sat down to eat dinner

"it f-cking sucks" I swore

"I know" Finn sighed, piling potatos onto his plate

"and how are _you?_ " I asked, grabbing a slice of pie, and glancing meaningfully at him

"I am great, darling, thank you for asking" he grinned, jokingly, making his voice fifty times squeakier

"prick, you know what I mean" I snapped, knowing what he was doing. Hiding his real feelings behind jokes, something he mastered long ago

"I am serious, I am fine, I always am" he waved off, focusing himself on his food

"its scary how much you remind me of Lore. She said the exact same thing as you just did, when I asked her" I sighed,

"well, when you hang out with that little bugger, you pick stuff up" he joked

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Finn's POV

after dinner, Marcus went to his dorm to do some homework, and I decided to go to the one place I felt at peace. The quidditch field. Cliché, but there was something about the smell of the wet grass, and the light breeze flowing around, that made me feel happy.

We all had that one place, that made us safe. Lore's was the astronomy tower, Anna's was the library, and Marcus's was the Lake.

It was pretty chilly, even though it was still September, but I didn't really mind, it made me feel refreshed. I walked aimlessly, rubbing my hands together, just thinking.

Because, Merlin knew there was a lot to think about.

I thought about America, and Ilvermorny. I knew the rest of my friends missed the school. But, for some reason, I didn't. I had no emotional attachment to that place, beside the fact my best friends went there. But, in all honesty, I began to hate it, during our last few months we spent there. I hated the looks of sympathy we received. The glares. The knowing glances. It made me want to punch someone. Which, is why I was relieved when we got expelled.

But, the best thing, by far, about getting expelled, was the fact that, now, I was far away from my family. That felt brilliant. I no longer had to go home on the weekend and hear the snips from my father, or look at the disappointed stare of my mother, every time I fought with father.

And finally, my thoughts wandered to the letter I received three days ago. It was from my father, so when I received it, I was shocked. He never owled me. In fact, I have probably received two letters from him in the whole time I have been in school.

But, the contents of the letter weren't that shocking. Same thing, he wrote about how disappointed I made him. How I wasn't going any where in life. How he wishes he could actually have a son worth something.

So I burnt it.

But that doesn't mean I can stop thinking about it. Which f-cking sucks.

My train of thoughts came to a halt, as I felt a small, delicate hand on my shoulder "hey" my, stiff posture eased, as I recognized the voice. Lorelai.

"hey" I replied, turning to face her.

Her cheeks had turned pink, due to the cool breeze now blowing. Her red hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she was wearing an oversized grey sweater, that made her seem so tiny. But what worried me, were her eyes. Gone, was the usual bright spark, instead, it was replaced, by this empty void. She had bags under her eyes, which just added to the emptiness.

Without thinking, I engulfed her in a hug

"you turning into Mark?" she joked, hugging me back, nonetheless.

I flicked her, letting her go

"no, I just..." I sighed, running my hands through my hair "you looked like you needed it" I admitted

"I think you are mistaking me for An" she muttered, lying down on the grass, I joined her lying next to her, and staring up at the stars

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Lorelai's POV:

"Lore, I love you and all that, but you look like shit" Finn sighed

"thanks" I snorted, flicking him

"you know what I mean" he replied, glancing at me seriously

"and you look so good, yeah?" I retorted, referring to the bags under his eyes, and his sunken cheeks.

"touche" he muttered, returning to star gazing.

"we are some f-cked up pieces of shit, arent we?" I sighed, focusing my eyes on the loose thread on my jeans, for the sole purpose of doing something

"when have we not been?" he snorted, although, you could hear the defeat in his voice

"remember when Alicia Pince got pissed at us and began shouting at us, saying it was unfair that we had such perfect lives and were still jackasses?" I snickered, it was third grade. We had just finished replacing Pince's shampoo with green hair dye, to get back at her for calling Anna dumb. She found us in the common room, and began shouting at us, telling us we were a bunch of over privileged trust fund, assholes.

"she was a crazy bint" Finn grumbled, still angry at the memory. He despised it when people insulted his friends,

"true" I shrugged, not being able to refute his logic.

"seriously, though, when the f-ck did we get so screwed up?" he asked, glancing at me

"get? Honey, we were always screwed up. It just started to come out recently" I snorted, opening my hair so it fanned out around me

"yeah, your right" he agreed

"so, we going to talk about the letter from your father?" I asked, strategically. It was the best way to get a reply from Finn. By catching him off guard

"what?" he asked, shocked "how the f-ck did you find out about the letter?!"

"saw you get it at breakfast. Wasnt hard to work out who it was from, you got all moody afterwards" I shrugged

"its nothing, I don't wanna talk about it" he muttered, angrily, although, I let it slide, knowing his anger wasn't directed at me

"fine" I shrugged. I wasn't like Anna or Marcus, I didn't pry and bug, if someone didnt want to tell me, thats cool

"have your parents tried to contact you?" he asked. I didnt answer at first. I just stared intently at the stars in the sky. Finally, I sighed "no, thank Merlin."

"yeah" he agreed, closing his eyes for a quick rest.

AUTHORS NOTE:

I feel so accomplished seriously, 3200 words! Anyways, how are you liking it so far? REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

waking up, it was a normal day for most of the students living in Hogwarts. However, for four significant students, it was anything butt normal. It was a day of sorrow, and mourning. Feeling the four were not at all comfortable with

"Have you lot seen Anna or Lore today?" Roxanne asked, climbing down the stairs to the common room, yawning as it was seven in the morning on a Saturday.

"no, Finn and Mark are missing too, maybe they all went for a morning walk?" James shrugged, not to concerned. The four had a habit of wandering off together, and not informing anyone else

"yeah.." Roxanne trailed off, unable to shake off the uneased feeling in her stomach

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three hours later

"okay seriously, it has been three hours, and they haven't come! They weren't, at breakfast, should we be worried?" Roxanne asked, as the Wotter clans were lazing in the common room, doing homework or just relaxing

"Rox, they are big boys and girls, they can take care of themselves" Dom sighed "but, if you are really worried, get James to check the Map"

"James, will you?" Roxanne pleaded, pouting at her cousin

"finneee" he sighed, lifting himself off the couch and treading up the stairs to the boy's dormitory

he came down five minutes later, map in hand and a worried expression coating his face

"they aren't on it" he spoke, confused

"maybe they are in the Room of Requirements?" Rose suggested, worried as well, she had grown attached to the four Americans, and enjoyed the chats she had with Anna about the different Muggle books she had read

"no, I just got back from there, they weren't in there" Fred responded, searching the map along with James, hand pulling his hai,r as he did when he was worried

"Hogsmede?" Lily suggested, she too, was concerned, thinking of the fierce red head she admired so much

"maybe, but Anna wouldn't have left without leaving a note" Selena spoke, getting off her place on the arm chair and moving next to the James, searching through the map over his shoulder

"should we tell McGonagall?" Rose suggested, anxious

"no, we tell her now, and they would be expelled for good" James muttered, closing the map "okay, lets spread out. Fred, Al, Scorp, Louis, Hugo, Ben and I can go check Hogsmede. Lils, Molly, and Lucy can go check the Room of Requirements again. Rose, you keep an eye on the map, and Sel, Dom and Rox go check if Anna left a note in your dorm" James commanded, they all followed his lead, running in different directions

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"found something!" Rox shouted, her voice was muffled as she was searching underneath Annas bed.

"it must of dropped" she trailed, referring to the note in her hand "check what it says!" Dom replied, impatiently

 _Hey guys, I hope you find this note before you start freaking out. Finn, Mark, Lore and I went out for a bit. No, not to Hogsmede, and yes, McGonagall does know. And no, she won't tell you. Anyways, my point is, don't worry about us, we just had some things to sort out, we will be back tonight, hopefully._

 _See you guys later,_

 _Anna X"_

"McGonagall allowed them to leave the castle?" Selena asked, surprised, McGonagall was extremely strict about these matters

"it must be important" Rox suggested, biting her lip "we should tell the rest, lets go"

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"she didn't c-care though!" Anna slurred, walking into the common room

"There you lot are! Where have you been! Its 11, we were so worried!" Selena exclaimed, jumping up from her seat on the two seater couch, where she was drifting off on James's shoulder

"Awww, Selena, you are so sweet. So caring, James, you really picked a great girl. She's so sweet" Finn slurred, pulling Selena into a sloppy hug

"Finn! Are you drunk?" she asked, pushing Finn off her

"what?!" exclaimed Finn is disbelief, before pausing as he smelt his breath "hmm... maybe. But its fun!" he grinned, pulling her into another hug

"where the hell were you all?" Rox asked, helping Anna onto a couch as she looked like she was about to trip over her own feet

"we can't tell you. _Its a secret_ " Finn whispered, leaning in really close

"wheres Lorelai?" James questioned, realising they were one friend short

"she went for a..." Marcus trailed off, seeming to be confused by his own hands

"walk?" Rose suggested

"thats it!" he grinned, clicking his fingers "smart girl, Rose." he trailed off, tumbling over to sit next to Anna

"Rosie is very smart" Finn spoke, matter of factly, nodding his head

"and sweet"

"where is Lorelai walking?" James continued, looking worried  
"down by the sea!" Marcus exclaimed

"you mean Lake?"

"YEAH! Thats it, smart James" Smiled Marcus

"... okay.. look, I am going to find Lorelai, Girls, help An up to bed, and Fred, help the guys take Finn and Mark up?" James sighed, ruffling his hair as he headed out the portrait hole

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Lorelai's POV:

there was something magical about nights at Hogwarts, that I had grown to love. It was just so peaceful.. in America, everything was so loud, and fast. Even at night, you could always hear drunk vomiting, and cars honking. But right now, it was so quiet, and serene. Just me, the Lake and the stars.

Thats until a certain raven hair boy sat next to me,

"hey" he muttered quiet

"who told you I was out here?" I asked, cutting to the chase, hugging my knees tightly, it was starting to cool down, and the navy blue knitted sweater I was wearing, did nothing.

"Marcus... sort off.. he said you were by the sea" he admitted

"oh, well, Marcus always losing his brain when he drinks" I shrugged, picking the loose threads of my sweater

"how come you aren't drunk?" he asked, curious

"oh, I am" I snorted "but, I have always been better at holding down my liqour than the rest. I don't usually get drunk, just really carefree" I explained

"you don't seem carefree" he observed, looking at the frown etched on my face

"long day" I shrugged, staring straight ahead at the lake, last thing I wanted was a round of 21 questions with James

"yeah. It must of been" he replied bitterly

"James" I sighed, really not in the mood, he was definitely the most persistent bloke I knew, and I was best friends with Finn West " _leave it_ " I gritted my teeth

"you disappeared for the whole day, and come back drunk, why do I have to leave it?" he replied, agitated

"because I said please" I sarcastically responded, getting up

"where are you going?" he called, raising his voice

"I have a f-cking headache and I can't deal with your shit" I shouted, stomping to the castle.

I miss my bed

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 _next day_

 _ANNA'S POV:_

you know how usually in movies, the mornings are really magical, and the girls wake up to birds chirping and elegantly roll out of bed, and they have birds and bunnies to help them change?

Well, thats bullsh-t

today, the _exact_ opposite happened to me. I woke up with a killer headache, and wishing to just be able to curl up in a ball and never move. I rolled over to check the time, but underestimated my movement and instead ended up falling on the floor in a large heap of body parts and covers.

That did _not_ help my headache

groaning, I tried to untangle myself, but ended up failing miserably, so I took to lying in a pathetic ball on the floor.

"need help?" an amused voice spoke from above me

 _wow, even god was amused by my patheticness.. oh wait, thats Rox._

'no, I am an independent women who can take care of her self' I replied, voice muffled by my covers

she simply raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.

"yes please" I corrected, meekly

she snorted, giving me her slim hand to pull me up, after she helped me flop pathetically onto my bed, she handed me a cup of coffee

"here, dad once told me this helped with hangovers, I think he expected us to be having parties and getting drunk every weekend. Didnt want to disappoint him, so I played along"

I took the cup gratefully, sipping it slowly "can you do me a favour?" I asked, my head calming down enough for me to speak

"sure, whats up?" she asked, sitting on my bed

"there is a box in my beside table, full of potions, grab the clear vial with purple liquid?" I requested, she nodded, and did so, passing it to me

"what does it do?" she asked curiously, staring at the contents, It took me a moment to reply, as I had put my pinched my nose and gulped the potion down, grimacing at the taste, but smiling as the headache faded

"hangover potion, Finn swears by it" I answered, putting the other half of the potion on my table, mentally reminding myself to give it to Lore

"I didn't know they existed" Roxanne remarked, examining the vial

"well, it doesnt technically" I responded, getting off my bed and ruffling through my trunk for an outfit to wear,

"Finn, Mark, Lore and I made it with a couple of seventh graders in third grade, they realised they couldnt attend NEWT classes hung over, and we realized four third years showing up to class drunk wouldn't sit well, we didn't perfect it for a while though" with that, I walked to the bathroom, I had picked a simple white full sleeve top to wear, it had black polka dots around the sleeves hem and a pair of skinny black jeans, I paired them with a black cardigan and my converses.

I showered, scrubbing my hair and body with my vanilla scented shampoo, I swore by the shampoo, it made me feel clean. And Lore swore by the same companies mint shampoo

after I showered and changed, I dried my hair (rhank you magic) and pulled my shoulder length hair into a pony,

"when did Lore get in?" I asked Selena, who was combing her hair infront of the mirror. I knew I forgot something, oh well.

"hmm, about one in the morning, I woke up when she came in, didn't talk to her, she seemed pissed for some reason"

I nodded, walked over to her bed, put the clear vial on her desk,gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed downstairs, opting to not wake her up, she looked so tired, and yesterday was really hard on her

when I headed downstairs, I looked around the common room and realised it was practically empty, except for a couple of seventh years, hoping to cram some early studying in before it got loud

"Hey, Hunter" I smiled, waving at the blonde seventh year, he was really friendly and had helped me in potions once or twice "hey Anna, whats up?"

"have you seen Finn or Mark?" I asked him,

"no, but the other boys from their dorm came down and I heard they say something about letting 'em sleep in, bout half an hour ago" I nodded my thanks and headed up into their dormitory. The curtains were shut and the only beds occupied were Finns and Mark, I walked up to Finns, careful to avoid the pair of jeans on the floor and sat on the side, next to his stomach, I shook him gently "Finnn, get upp" I whispered

"mhmm, fire?" he muttered

"no"

"why 'm I awake?" he questioned

"its ten o clock, thats why"

"too early' he groaned, rolling over

"Finn, you went to bed at 11 yesterday, you have been asleep for 11 hours, how is that too early?" I scolded

"its 11?" he replied, in disbelief

"yup, so get your fat arse out of bed" I told him, popping the p

"my head hurts" he groaned

"that would be the alcohol" I replied matter of factly

"no shit, Sherlock" he grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his forehead

taking pity on him, I gave him the potion from my jean pocket

"you're an angel in disguise" he told me, gulping the potion down and shaking his head at the taste

"I know" I simply stated, standing up and moving to Marks bed, he had woken up due to the noises in the room, and simply stuck his hand out of his blanket, I gave him the vial and he gulped the potion down before speaking

"is Lore up?"

"no, Sel said she didn't get in until 1, so I thought I should let her rest" I replied, sitting on the edge of his bed

"yeah, good, let her rest, she looked like shit yesterday" Finn remarked, trying to find a clean shirt from a pile next to his bed

'well, yesterday was hard for us" I whispered

"I didnt realise how hard it would be, I mean, I think we all knew we wouldn't take it easy, but I definitely underestimated it." commented Mark, looking down in sorrow

"especially for Lore, I mean we all loved the guy, but he and Lore had this _bond,_ we were all family, but they were more than that, if thats even possible" Finn spoke, pulling on a white t shirt that he had deemed clean, ie, it didn't have a stain on it

"they were always the closest out of all of us, I mean they knew each other since they were five" I replied, all of a sudden, I felt tired again, even though I had slept for 11 hours, it was true what they said, emotions sure as hell affected you physically

"doesnt help that she saw it happen too" Finn commented

"yeah, and whats worse is that she won't fricken talk about it, she always acts like she is fine, even straight after it happen, we all broke down, we all cried, she was just stoic, the whole time" I ranted, fustrated, I hated that my friend was hurting, and I couldn't help

"its just her way of dealing with the pain" Mark replied soothingly, rubbing my shoulder in a comforting manner, I sighed, leaning my head against his chest,

"I know, I just hate it" I muttered

"we all do, but there is nothing we can do, we just have to be there for her" Finn told us

000000000000000000

Marcus's POV

after Anna calmed down, we all decided to go to breakfast, in the kitchens, as we couldn't be bothered to face the student body and their questions, yeah, cowards, I know. The three of us walked to the kitchen in silence, too exhausted to speak. Eleven hours did not seem like enough sleep, I wanted to just dive back into bed.

"we should take some food up for Lore" Anna muttered, stirring the bowl of porridge Winky had laid in front of us

Finn and I murmured in agreement, falling back in silence.

I was worried about Lorelai. Yesterday was tiring, for all of us, as well as emotionally draining, but, Lorelai was definitely the worse out of all of us, she kept on insisting she was fine. When Finn and I were hugging Anna as she cried, Lorelai chose to stand in the corner, an emotionless expression painted on her face.

That was a face I had become used to when it came to Lorelai. It was the face she wore when she found out her Grandmother and only relative she liked died in her second year. It was the expression she wore when Finn ended up in hospital for a week after going into a coma after a bad quidditch accident.

Lorelai had always been one to hid her emotions, in the six years I have known her, never once have I seen her cry. Angry, yes, happy, yes, but upset and broken? Never. And not to be a jerk, but her life brought her a lot of opportunities in which she could be upset.

Another person I was worried about was Finn. Yesterday, when we were in America, I saw how truly bad things had got with his parents. I mean, yeah, they had always had a shitty relationship, but, it seems to have gotten worse since we came here. His dad and him had a fight in the middle of the graveyard, and his mum, as always, was quiet. But, usually, Finn didnt give a crap what his parents thought, I was always the one who spent my days trying to gain their approval, Lore and Finn, on the other hand, had given up long ago. Yesterday, was a whole other story, after the fight, I looked at Finn and was stunned, never, had I ever seen Finn give someone a look of pure hatred in my years of knowing him. The look he gave his father gave _me_ chills. The stare was powered by loathe.

But, as usual, he acted like he was okay, and that his fathers disapproval meant nothing. Every time I brought it up, he would simply answer by saying we had to focus on helping the girls.

"I still can't believe Lore's parents didn't show up" Anna muttered, breaking me out of my train of thoughts

"can't you?" Finn snorted condescendingly, I had to agree with him there, Lorelai's family not coming yesterday wasn't at all shocking

"I really hate them" Anna grumbled, finishing her eggs and giving the dishes to the elves

"we all do" I responded, also giving my empty dishes to Winky, we thanked the elves and left, planning on heading straight to our dormitories and waking Lorelai up. Anna had saved her a omelet, pepperoni and cheese sandwich and had put a heating spell and no spill spell on a cup of coffee

"still, he was practically Lore's brother, and they didn't even send their condolences" Anna ranted, Finn and I didn't respond, knowing better than to disagree or voice or opinions

000000000000000000

FINNS POV:

we decided to let Lore sleep in, and put the coffee and sandwich on her bedside table, so she could eat when she woke up, Anna stayed in the dorm to do her homework, while Mark headed to the library to research for an assignment. I let them go, knowing they wanted to distract themselves.

This left me to my thoughts.

Not good.

I wanted to distract myself, but lets face it, homework and I are an even worse combination than thoughts and I. So, I did the only other thing I could. I went around terrorizing first years. At least, thats what An calls it, I call it providing self amusement. She told me to stop being an idiot.

Gotta love that girl.

Anyways, I basically went around stopping random first years and annoying them by making them _extremely_ uncomfortable. I did this for about an hour, then Professor McGonagall shouted at me and handed me detention. At least I had something to do tomorrow night. I suppose I should be grateful it wasn't more, but I am sure she feels sorry for us.

I hated that. Thats one reason I got sick of Ilvermorny, I _hated_ the looks of sympathy we got. The condolences we received, as if people actually _cared_ and were actually geuninely upset. Because, how could they be? If they didn't know him?

"West!" I turned around when I heard my name being called out, and plastered a bright fake smile on my face

"hey Weasley" I smiled at Rose, she was actually pretty cool, sure, she got annoying when she sprouted random facts out, and she was sometimes too judgmental, but she was also laid back and never too pushy. Out of all the Wotters who weren't in our year, she was definitely my favourite

"McGonagall told me to come find you, apparently you have been tormenting first years?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow at me

"hey! Tormenting is a _very_ strong word!" I protested "I wouldn't go as far as to say that... more like.. umm" I trailed off, not being able to back myself up

"hey, I am not judging" she grinned, raising her hands up, as if to surrender "I am just pissed because you didn't include me" she smirked.

See? Gotta like a girl with that mind set.

"next time" I promised, walking towards the door leading to the grounds, Rose quickly fell into my pace and began to make an easy conversation

"so, why are you tormenting kids?" she grinned as she saw me glare at her choice of words

"bored" I shrugged "Marks studying, so is Ann and Lore is far in dreamland"

"oh, well, as long as you have a solid reason, West" she sarcastically replied, leaning against the willow tree near the Lake while I decided to lie down on the grass

"why do you do that?" she asked accusingly

"do what?" I questioned, confused

"any time anyone says your last name, you visibly cringe" she observed

"do I?" I asked, genuinely curious, I hadn't noticed

"yes" she stated

"didn't realise" I shrugged lazily

"that doesnt answer my question, why do you do it?" she responded, glaring questioningly at me with her big blue eyes

"Rosie, if I didn't notice I did it, how am I supposed to explain _why_ I did it?" I replied, amused

"well, now you know you do it, think about it and tell me" she quipped back, grinning as she straightened her green blouse, even though it was a sunday and most students decided to wear sweats if they even bothered to change out their pjs, Rose, as usual, looked prim and put together

"I guess I hate it because its my fathers name. Its a permanent reminder that, I am, in fact related tto them"

"were they really _that_ bad?"

I groaned, "Rosie, we have talked about this"

"I know! I don't mean it like that.. I just.. I am curious. Where they always like that? Or did something happen? Do they just ignore you? Do you miss them?.." she trailed off, and a horrified look replaced her curious demeanor " _Oh my Merlin!_ " she whispered, horrified "I sound like my _mother._ Finn, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to pry, I am just going to go... avada myself" she rumbled, standing up, I laughed, amused and pulled her back done

"Rose, its cool, you don't have to go avada yourself, I don't think your parents would appreciate it" I grinned

"you really don't have to answer" she whispered

"I don't mind" I shrugged, knowing, that for once, she was actually genuinely curious, she wasn't just asking to be polite

"It wasn't always like this, I suppose. Couldn't have been. To be honest, I don't remember when it all started, all I know is that some point in my life, my father began to loathe me, instead of giving me a candy like most fathers, I got a look of disapproval. Instead of him teaching me to play quidditch, he taught me to make a business deal. And, I never wanted it. I knew he wanted me to take over the business when I graduated, but I always wanted to be a Quidditch player, and I wasn't one to back down, so I rebelled. I would get dirt on my wizarding robes before a ball, when he would have an important business meeting, I would fly my broom round the living room to annoy him. And as I got older, he got more angry, started to tell me how much of a disappointment I was, how I would never amount to anything"

"and your mum?"

"like I said, she could never choose. She wasn't strong enough to. So, I chose for her, I let her remain loyal to my dad. I know, deep down, some where, she loves me, and for me, thats enough" I shrugged

"I can't imagine that" shuddered Rose

"yeah, cuz your parents are madly in love" I snorted

"yeah, but even when they fight... I always know that they will be okay.. whenever I am in difficulty, I know I can go to them, no matter how bad and no matter how wrong I was, I know they would help me" "who do you go too?"

"Lore, Mark and Ann" I replied seriously, it was the truth, they were my family, I relied on them for everything, and I knew they would be there for me no matter what

"do you ever wish for things to be different?" she asked, quietly, as if not sure whether she had gone too far

"not really, no" I answered carefully "I mean, when I was younger, definitely, but know, I just feel like this is the way it is, no point trying to change it"

"you are really mature, you know that?" Rose told me seriously

I stared at her, shocked "no one has ever told me that"

"well, you are, extremely" she stated firmly

I smiled, and pulled her into a nougie "thanks Rosie" she squealed, pushing me away and trying to fix her delicately made hair

"you know that my parents and your parents are entirely different?" I assured her

"what? Why would you say that?" she asked, confused

"oh c'me on Rosie, I know you are asking these questions because you wanna tell your parents something and aren't sure how they will react" I answered

"how-how did you work that out?" she stuttered, shocked

"because I am _mature_ " I mocked her, grinning, she shoved me before replying

"I am sorry, I was genuinely interested..." she trailed off, I smiled at her and assured her "its fine, Rosie, I get it" I paused, then spoke again "soo.. what are you worried about telling your parents about?"

"my career choice" she admitted, glancing at her hands nervously

"what do you wanna do?" I asked, curious

"go into fashion" she whispered, so quietly, that if there was more noise than the water from the Lake hitting the shore, I would of missed it

"whats wrong with that?"

"well. Its not exactely _ambitious!_ "she started "I mean, come on, my dad is an Auror and part time owner of WWW, and mum is head of the Muggle-Wizarding Communication department, as well as one of the most influential members of the Ministry, dont even get me started on my other family members!" she ranted "how is a _fashion freaking designer_ supposed to compare to that?!"

"its not' I shrugged, trying to hold in a laugh as she gaped at me gobsmacked "but who cares, if its what you wanna do, then it shouldn't matter, you shouldn't compare it to others"

"but.. ." she didnt continue, unable to come up with a new reason

"Rose, life is too short to worry about others, do what you want, and don't worry about others impression of you" I told her serious, she was going to reply, but our conversation was cut short as a silver patronus came floating towards me "Lore's awake, come up to the girls dorm, get Sel to float you up" Mark's voice spoke, I stood up quickly and turned to Rose

"Rose, I am serious, do it, I have to go, I will talk to you later" I smiled at her before racing across the grounds inside.

000000000000000000

Lorelai's POV

"what time is it?" I asked groggily, taking a sip of the water Anna had given me

"3 in the afternoon" Marcus told me, glancing down at his watch

"shit" I muttered

"you needed the rest, don't feel bad" Anna smiled at me, I smiled back weakly, but internally cringed at the sympathy I was receiving. I didn't need sympathy, especially not from my friends

before anyone else could say a word, Finn came barging into the room "hey guys!" he grinned, sitting down on Anna's bed where An was fiddling with her black cardigan

"hey Finn" I smiled at him, Finn always knew how to ease a situation

"hey Lil' L, how you feeling?" he asked, concern etched on his face

"I am good, but I wasn't the one piss drunk last night, how are you lot?" I answered, desperately trying to avoid the topic from focusing on me

"we are good, Anna gave us that shit tasting potion" Finn told me, making a face at the memory of the taste

"well, no one said its easy to get over a hang over" Mark muttered, also grimacing at the memory

"hey, how come you haven't had the potion?" Finn suddenly exclaimed, pointing his finger accusingly at me

"because, apparently, I can hold down my liquor better than two sixteen year old boys" I smirked

"I prefer the whole "you're half Irish theory, more" " Finn frowned, throwing a pillow at me, I dodged it and began to eat my sandwich after placing a quick warming spell on it

"so, how long do you want to ignore yesterday for?" Anna asked me,

"forever" I shrugged, picking at my sandwich and avoided eye contact

"we can't ignore it forever Lore!" she exclaimed, frustrated

"what do you want me to say An?" I snapped, glaring at her "Lucas is gone, hes dead, we went to see his grave yesterday, it f-cking sucked! There, happy? I spoke about it" I raised my voice slightly, before sending her a glare and walking out my dorm, making sure to grab my leather jacket which I threw on over my pajamas, black trousers and a plain white t shirt, I looked like shit, but to be honest, I couldn't care less

"hey Lore! You're-" Rose began, I didn't stop to listen to listen to her and instead focused on getting out of the common room, I continued walking, and everyone jumped away from me as they saw me

I calmed down when I reached the astronomy tower, I loved it here, I felt safe here, like my own haven that no one could attack

I lay down on the terrace and began glancing up at the clouds, just thinking

I felt so angry, and lost, and fed up.

Angry that Anna was treating me differently. I wasn't the only one who lost Luke, they all did too.

Lost, because, for the first time in a long time, I felt alone. Sure, I had the Ann and the guys that I could rely on for anything. But, after loosing Luke, I feel so alone.

And fed up, because I hated what I was feeling. It has been a year, and everyday I wake up still missing him.

Luke and I met when I was five years old, his family and he had moved across the street, I remember running over to their house and asking him if he wanted to get out of unpacking by playing with me.

Luke was a breath of fresh air for me. He had the opposite of everything I had. His mum loved him and cared about him, while my parents didn't even care where I was half the time. He grew up with little money and a working mother, I grew up around riches and a mother who spent her days in spas and getting manicures. But, he was _happy,_ he loved his life, while I felt like I didn't even have a proper life. He was my best friend, my brother. And I was the same for him. He loved me like he loved his four sisters, and I loved him like I should of loved my siblings

we were so close, and not in the romantic way, I remember in Ilvermorny, rumours always went round that we were dating, but it wasn't true, in fact, it was so unrealistic, that him and I would laugh about it, finding amusement in others stupidity.

And then, he dies, and leaves me to deal with all this shit. And It f-cking sucks.

Because I missed him, so damn much, and this _pain_ in my heart wasn't leaving, no matter how hard I tried.

AUTHORS NOTE:

5000 WORDS! So now you know who died, but you dont know why... thats coming later, can't let my plot out all at once.

Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

3 days later

 _it was a warm summer day, the sun was blazing down on the garden of the Beckett's as a truck rolled up opposite, it was a plain white truck, with the words "MOVING VAN" written in red bold letters. Curious, the young red head who had been making flower crowns in the garden peered over her fence, trying to get a better look at the family in the car behind the van, she managed to get a look of the driver, a women with short brown hair and bright blue eyes, she had a bright smile and was talking to what seemed to be her son, who looked to be the same age as Lorelai, with brown hair and blue eyes, he looked like a copy of his mother. In the back seat was a young girl who looked to be only 2 years old in a car seat, she had blue eyes like her brother, but blonde hair. They all looked happy and were laughing, it was something Lorelai was not familiar with, and she kept glancing nervously at the little boy, almost as if expecting his mother to slap him or something of the sorts._

 _As soon as they pulled up, Lorelai snuck out of her garden, trying to get a closer look at the family, she watched them for a few minutes, hidden behind a bush, before the brown haired women noticed her, she smiled and beckoned her over, smiling widely "hello dear, whats your name?"_

" _L-lorelai" the girl stuttered, the name was quite a handful for her_

" _thats a lovely name, Lorelai, my name is Emily, this is my son Lucas, and my daughter, Gemma, where are your parents?" she asked, still smiling warmly at the girl, it made Lorelai uncomfortable, as she was not used to anything more than a tight lipped smile from an adult_

" _inside, they don't like to come outside" Emily seemed to notice that something was off by the way Lorelai spoke, but decided to not address it_

" _well, how old are you?" she questioned further_

" _five, ma'am" whispered Lorelai, seeming to remember that this was an adult she was speaking to, and adults must be spoken to with respect, and elegance._

" _so is Lucas!" Emily grinned, calling her son over, he grinned at the grey eyed girl and stuck his hand out to be shaken "my name is Lucas!"_

" _Lorelai" she repeated, shaking his hand, overwhelmed by the welcoming shew as receiving_

" _I have to go pay the men, but why don't you too stay here and out of trouble," suggested Emily, before walking towards the men from the van, Gemma in one hand_

" _wanna get out of unpacking and come play with me?" Lorelai asked the blue eyed boy, seeming to gain her confidence_

" _sure, lemme just tell my mom" he grinned, running off the ask for permission_

 _after he did, they headed out of the garden and towards the street_

" _there is a woods, near my house, would you like to check it out?" Lorelai asked, glancing curiously at the carefree boy next to her_

" _woods?! Thats so cool" he replied, running towards the end of the street_

 _four years later_

" _I cant believe your mother grounded you for that!" Luke exclaimed, kicking the dry autumn leaves as she walked down the path_

" _you can't?" Lorelai replied sceptically, raising her red eyebrow_

 _'oh yeah, I keep on forgetting what your parents are like" he mused_

" _lucky you" muttered Lorelai darkly, kicking a pile of leaves and frowning slightly as they didn't crunch_

" _oh c'me on Katy, smile a bit, no one likes a sour puss!" Lucas grinned, trying to cheer his friend up_

" _I can't help it! She just annoys me so much! So what if I didn't curtsy when I met the Minister?! He didn't either!" she protested, causing Lucas to laugh at the red heads logic_

" _did you tell her that?" he asked, amused_

" _why do you think it was three weeks instead of two?" was all she replied_

" _well, wanna hear something that might cheer you up?" he asked, sitting down on the grass in the woods. Ever since Lorelai showed these woods to Luke five years ago, he had grown particularly fond of them, and they spent their days exploring them_

" _what?" Lorelai sighed, plopping herself down next to Luke and leaning against the old oak tree_

" _Seth is thinking of proposing to my mom" he told me, picking at the grass_

" _and you don't mind?" replied Lorelai, shocked, whipping her head round to look at her best friend_

" _yeah.. I mean, they have been dating for three months now, and he makes her happy, plus, I am heading off to Ilvermorny in two years, its nice to know mom wont be alone with Gemma" he shrugged, contemplating the whole issue_

" _you seem so.. calm about this. I can't imagine ever wanting my mother to remarry, hell, if her and dad got a divorce, I would be so happy"_

" _yeah, well, you hate your parents, having them separate would be a dream for you" Luke snorted_

" _true"shrugged Lorelai, picking at the ends of her long red hair "so, you are totally okay with your mom getting married to Seth?"_

" _yeah, mom deserves to be happy, ever since my dad left, shes always put Gem and I first, its time she does something for herself, and I like Seth, he is cool and takes me to quidditch matches" Luke shrugged, not really worried_

" _well Seth is a nice guy, so how did you find out?"_

" _he asked me, yesterday after dinner he followed me to my room. Told me that he knew how close this family was and didn't want to ask if I wasnt happy, basically, he was asking me for my permission" Luke informed, grinning slightly at the power he had_

" _wow, he must really love her if he asked you" was all Lore replied, thinking._

 _00000000000000000_

 _1 year later_

" _Lore, honey, does your parents know you are here?" Emily repeated, huddling a dripping wet grey eyed girl into her living room and immediately wrapping her in a blanket_

" _n-no" shivered the girl, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket and sitting infront of the fire_

" _well, why were you in the rain? Its a terrible storm" Emily asked kindly, sitting down next to the girl, frowning. Luke was at a Quidditch match with her husband and it was raining a lot outside, Emily had been looking forward to a relaxing day as Gemma was at her grandmothers, but instead as she was running a warm bath, she was greeted at the doorsteps by a dripping wet and cold Lorelai_

" _I c-couldn't stay there" Lorelai stuttered, looking down at her covers_

" _there? You mean at your home?" Emily questioned, concerned, she knew Lorelai didn't have the kindest parents, she had met them many a times, and through things she had heard from Lucas and Lorelai, she knew they were extremely harsh towards their child, but she had never seen Lorelai like this._

 _Lorelai chose not to respond, and instead just nodded her head._

" _sweet heart, what happened?" Emily further questioned, putting a reassuring arm around the her shoulder_

" _t-they told me off, because I was playing with a Muggle who I met in the park. I asked them w-why I cou-ldn't, but m-mother doesn't like questions, so sh-he" she didn't continue though, and Emily expected that it was too much for the little girl to process, still, Emily admired how Lorelai didn't shed a tear once throughout_

" _what did your mother do?" Emily asked, fearful of the answer_

" _sh-she hit me, and told me to g-go to my roo-om" she began, however, Emily could tell it was a lot more_

" _oh, honey" sympathized Emily, pulling the girl into a hug and running her hands through her hair in a comforting manner_

" _would you like me to call someone? The authorities?" she asked_

" _n-no!" exclaimed Lorelai, fearful_

 _to this, Emily looked confused "honey, if your parents are hitting you, I can't not tell anyone"_

" _you don't understand! My parents are powerful, if I told the Ministry, they wouldn't believe me, and mother would just be worse" explained Lorelai, warming up due to the fire_

" _b-but" Emily began, lost for words_

" _please! Please, don't. I am fine, I am sorry for disturbing you, I just wanted to see Luke." began the girl, getting up "I should go, I am sorry"_

 _however, Emily wouldn't have any of it, she grabbed the ten year olds hand, and internally cried as Lorelai flinched, "Lorelai, I don't want you to leave, honey, especially not in this weather, sit down, I will make you some cocoa and in that time Lucas should be back"_

 _nodding slowly, Lorelai sat down and curled back into the covers, staring intently at the fire. Not sure what to say, Emily patted her back reassuringly and headed towards the kitchen "if you need anything, I will be here"_

 _ten minutes and a hot chocolate later, the front door bursted open and in came an over excited ten year old and a smiling Seth_

" _MOM! YOU SHOULD OF SEEN THE MATCH! TUTSHELL TORANDO **DESTROYED** PUDDLEMERE!" shouted Lucas, running over to hug his mom, he froze as he noticed his best friend next to the fire _

" _Katy, what are you doing here?" he asked_

" _your mom let me in, mother was upset so I left the house"_

 _It was always "the house" with Lorelai. Never 'my house' or 'home', because, how could you ever consider a place where you are beaten and shunned to be your home?_

" _did she hurt you?" he whispered, not sure if his mom knew_

 _he didn't need an answer, a simple nod was all he needed to swear and begin to look extremely angry_

" _Lucas, language" Emily scolded "I want you both to sit down, I think we all need to talk"_

 _Lucas obeyed his mother and sat next to Lorelai, wrapping his arm around his sister in all but blood_

 _'why didn't you tell me before that Lorelai got hit?" Emily demanded_

" _she didn't want me too" Luke muttered, not wanting to throw his friend under the bus, but also extremely scared of his mom_

" _I am sorry Ms. Bishop, don't tell Lucas off, I asked him not too, he was being a good friend" Lorelai rushed to defend her friend_

" _Honey, I am not mad, I just think it would be better if you told an adult from the beginning"Emily replied soothingly_

" _I am okay, I swear, its usually not this bad, I shouldn't of upset her that much" spoke Lorelai, not wanting too much attention brought to the situation_

" _Sweetie, I understand you are scared, but you can't try to pretend like this was nothing" Emily told her_

" _I am sorry, but please, please, don't tell anyone, I only have a year left and then I am off to Ilvermorny! I will be fine" Lorelai protested_

" _I-" turning to Seth, lost for words, Emily tried to wordlessly ask her husband for support_

" _Lorelai, if we told someone, I promise we will make sure you are safe," Seth tried, equally worried_

" _no! Please!" begged the ten year old_

" _mom, Seth, please, leave it" Luke pleaded, worried about his friends distress_

" _okay, fine" sighed Emily, not wanting to work up the tired red head_

" _but I want you to know Lorelai, that you always can count on us. You will always have a home here with Lucas, if you ever need anything, just ask"_

" _I will Ms Bishop"_

 _00000000000000000_

 _4 year later_

" _we haven't blown anything up for two weeks, I feel so lost" Finn sighed, plopping down next to Luke and I on the grass_

" _its a wonder that we have never been arrested with comments like that" Anna mused, closing her book, knowing there was no chance of reading now that the whole group had arrived_

" _Anna, darling, if we were arrested, it would be because of something worse than just talking about blowing things up" Finn drawled, amused_

" _true" she shrugged, not being able to refute that logic_

" _we need to sneak out tonight" Finn repeated_

" _we have Quidditch practice tonight" Lore reminded them_

" _so, it will end by 6, max, and then we can sneak out and get back for Mondays match" Finn compromised_

" _sure" shrugged Luke and Lorelai, not really bothered_

" _we almost got caught last time, shouldn't we lay low for a bit?" Anna protested_

" _oh come on Annie, live a little" Mark grinned, also agreeing_

" _fine, but if we get caught, I am throwing all you sorry arse's under the bus" she warned, wagging her finger_

" _yeah, because the teachers wont think you were apart of it" snorted Finn_

" _no, they won't, because I will tell them how I was innocently strolling down the corridor one night and you all coerced me into sneaking out"_

 _smiled Anna_

" _you are pure evil" shook Finn in disbelief_

" _the teachers don't know that, though"she winked in reply_

 _00000000000000000_

 _fifth year_

" _bloody witch- thinks she can just – I wanna_

 _f-king murder her" stormed Lorelai, marching down the halls and scaring all the first years_

" _woah! You need a siren when you do that!" laughed Luke, grabbing the grey eyed fifteen year olds shoulders to stop her from barreling into him_

" _sorry, I didn't see you there" she muttered darkly,_

" _I saw that" he replied, swinging his arm around her shoulder and leading her away from the cowering first years and towards the grounds_

" _okay, tell Doctor Lucas whats wrong" Luke commanded, leaning against the tree_

" _my f-cking mother"_

" _thats a constant wrong though, what did she do to make her of the moment?" Lucas frowned_

" _told me I had to go to the Avery's ball tomorrow" grumbled Lorelai, kicking the ground underneath her_

" _oh, well, its fine, I will come with you and we can sneak out early and go for a smoke, stock up on the whiskey, its fine" shrugged Luke, it was a known rule that Luke accompanied Lorelai to all the balls she was forced to from the age of nine, Ms Beckett was first completely against it, but after Lorelai poured soup down the robes of Quidditch star Jamie Wolfe, Ms Beckett grudgingly allowed it_

" _No, she specifically told me you weren't welcomed" Lorelai spoke_

" _I don't get it, whats different about the Avery's ball?" Luke asked, confused, he wasn't well aware of the pure blood community seeing as his mother was a muggle born_

" _the Avery Ball is basically a f-king auction for mothers to find suitable suitors for their daughters. That why only children above fifteen or fifteen attend, so they can be given off too some rich pureblood" explained Lorelai_

" _seriously? Thats so messed up, even for pure bloods!" gaped Lucas, shocked_

" _you are telling me. Anyways, apparently mother is worried that its too late to find me a suitor, because "who would want to marry such an uncivilized and vile women?" so, she doesn't want me to go with a date as it won't help me find a suitor"_

" _well, tomorrows a friday, we could sneak out of school and not come back till after the ball, that way you wont have to go" suggested Luke, ready to do anything to help his childhood friend_

" _thanks, but it wont work, mother is coming to escort me home personally tomorrow in the morning, shes already excused me from all my lessons" Lorelai answered, angrily, she really despised her mother_

" _wow, your mother is really something" whistled Luke "sorry"_

" _it's fine, thanks, but I am sure I can get through it. I have dealt with that bitch for so long, I can take care of myself" responded Lorelai, her bravery coming through_

 _00000000000000000_

Lorelai's POV

*gasp*

I woke up at three in the morning, gasping for breath and sweating, it was a regular occurrence this week, for me to wake up at some absurd hour in the morning, out of breath after a series of flashback dreams of Luke and I.

Knowing from past experiences that I would not be able to fall asleep, I tiptoed out of bed and quickly changed into a pair of black skinny jeans, a white t shirt, and a full sleeve knitted grey sweater on top, pulling on a pair of ankle boots and tossing her hair into a messy bun, she tiptoed out of the dorm, making sure to grab her notebook on the way out.

The common room, obviously, was empty, and the fireplace was crackling away, the fire dying as no one had been able to add more logs with a spell.

Lorelai however, ignored the empty common room and dying fire and headed straight for the exit, the Fat lady only grumbled slightly, used to being woken up by now. Lore paid no attention to this and just kept on walking to the grounds, it had snowed the previous night, so the grounds were coated in a magnificent sheet of white snow, sitting on her usual bench, Lorelai opened her notebook and began to flick through it.

Luke had given her this notebook for her thirteenth birthday, after realising that Lorelai always had random thoughts at odd moments and usually wrote them on her hands as she had no paper on hand. The notebook was from the muggle world, it had a black cover and the words "little book, big dreams" written on it with block white writing, however, Luke convinced his mother to put a charm on it so it would expand and shorten according to Lore's wishes

the notebook also had never ending pages, but wouldnt get fat.

The book itself was full of Lorelai's random doodles, thoughts and ideas. She had written random spells she had come up with, prank ideas and the required equipments, and also a series of notes that her and Luke had written to each other during their lessons.

Smiling, she read through them : (A/N Lorelai is bold italic, and Luke is italic)

 _is it just me, or does Professor Grey look a lot like that ill kitten we found last summer?_

 _ **Hmm, I suppose so, with a beard, definitely.**_

 _Shall we try?_

… _ **. and give the transfiguration teacher a beard? Sure, why not?**_

Lorelai remembered that day in third year, they never got caught as Luke was extremely quick with his wand, and they got to confirm their suspicion that Professor Grey, did, indeed, look like the ill kitten.

 _ **I understand that Mandy Sullivan's new hair cut is an insult to the whole of mankind and beyond, but is there a reason that you feel the need to burn a hole through the back of her head with your eyes?**_

 _Funny Katy, she made a rude comment about my sister, I was trying to work out the best form of revenge.. maybe a mustache to match her new hair do?_

 _ **.. with a matching beard colored yellow? How could I resist?**_

A small smile graced my face, I always had so much fun with Luke, pranking their fellows and getting pay back on their enemies. It was great. I missed moments like that. After Lucas's death, people would ask me, constantly, what was my favourite memory I had with Luke, but for me, it was those moments i enjoyed the most, the late night whispers, the notes in class, the laughter during dull moments.. just talking to my best friend cheered me up.

"Lorelai?" Mark called out, trekking through the snow to sit next to his best friend

"hey Mark, why are you up so early?" asked I, closing her notebook after marking the page I had been scribbling on

"its not early, its six in the morning" Mark answered, surprised

"really?" I spoke, shocked I glanced at my watch and sure enough, it read 6: 09.

00000000000000000

Mark's POV:

"How long have you been up for?" I asked her, sure, An, Finn and I had noticed Lorelai had more bags under her eyes then usual, but we all put it down to the fact she was stressed about going back home for the holidays without Luke

"oh, not long" she tried to dismiss, waving her hand

"Lore... how long?" I repeated, knowing she wasn't telling the full truth

"since three" she muttered grudgingly

"why?" I asked, bewildered, we slept super late last night, not going to our dormitories till midnight

"couldn't sleep" she shrugged

"has this been happening a lot?" I questioned, looking at her face, sure enough, her eyes looked bigger due to the fact she had bags under them, her cheeks had sunken and she looked paler than usual

"not really" dismissed Lorelai again

"Lore..." I began again

sighing, she admitted "just the past week.. ever since.. you know" she meant the trip to America

"oh Lorelai" I sighed, wrapping her into a one sided hug and keeping my arm around her, she snuggled into my side to protect herself from the cold "why didn't you tell us?"

"didn't want you all too worry, I am not the only one suffering, you shouldn't have to worry about me" she protested

"Lore, of course we are worried, you are our best friend. It just how I worry about Anna, and Anna worries about Finn, and you worry about me. We all care, and yeah, we are suffering, but we aren't locking our pain up like you" I told her, squeezing her shoulder for support, this was the problem with Lorelai. She always kept to herself, she hated telling anyone about her problems... the only one she talked to was, well, Lucas.

"I miss him" she admitted "its been a year, but it still hurts the same. And it sucks, I just want the pain to stop. I want it to leave" she whispered, shaking silently

I was silent, lost for words. What could I say to that? We all wanted the pain to go away, but, right now, I wasn't too sure it was.

So, I settled for pulling her into a tight hug and whispering into her ear as she rested her cheek on my shoulder "we will get through it, we always do"

and that was the truth, we always did, together

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ANNAS POV:

"hey Finn, wheres Mark and Lore?" I asked, plopping down onto the two seater next to him, where he was lying upside down off the sofa, staring at the fireplace

"Went down to the kitchen for hot cocoa" he replied, shaking his head and getting up "head rush" he muttered to himself, rubbing his head

I laughed "why the hell were you upside down?"

"i wanted to know how a koala saw the world" he shrugged, causing me to giggle, Finn had an extremely weird mind.

He looked at me and threw him arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to his side "how are you Anna-banana? I feel like I haven''t spoken to my favourite blondie in agess"

"we spoke an hour ago, idiot" I pointed out, referring to us eating breakfast in the hall

"how I did miss these heart to heart discussions we had" he exclaimed, waving his free arm wildly

"you are crazy" I laughed, hiding my head in his chest, not wanting anyone to see I knew this weirdo

"and proud of it, babe" he announced, ruffling my hair, I squealed, I hated that, my hair was already uncontrollable

"so, how have you been Anna-wan?" he asked, leaning back against the couch

"i am good, how are you? _"_ I replied, playing along with whatever game he had created

"I am great. Incredible. Magnificent. Amazing. Awesome. Splendid _"_ he began, I stopped him by delicately placing my hand on his mouth

"I get it" I told him, raising my eyebrow "why are you so happy?" I asked, before I could regret it

"why wouldn't I be?" he questioned, pretending to be insulted "I have an amazing life, a place of the gryffindor team as a beater with my amazing friend, three amazing friends, a handful of new amazing friends, I am not failing anymore, I think"

"you think?" I cut him off "also, thats probably the most times the word 'amazing' has been used in a conversation"

"well, maybe I am failing in Herbology, but lets face it, thats not even a real subject. And I object to that statement, last summer, I used the word 'amazing' 18 times"

"who counts that?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head, amused

"I do, duh" he replied, obviously hearing me

we fell into a comfortable silence, staring at the fire as I had my head resting on Finn chest and his arm swung around my shoulder

"hey Finn?" I suddenly spoke, breaking the silence

"yes Anna?" he answered, opening his eyes as he had previously been resting

"do you miss Luke?" I asked, quietly, unsure of how he would react

"of course I do, why would you ask that?" he asked, shocked but honestly

"oh, never mind. Its stupid _"_ I replied, not sure

"Anna, whats going on through that mind of yours?"

"its just, I miss him, of course I do, but, its been a year, and I just, feel like he would of wanted us to move on" I began, already feeling horrible for speaking, I sounded so selfish

he stayed quiet, and I sat in anticipation, waiting for him to burst out and call me selfish, after a few minutes, he spoke "you are right. Luke would of wanted us to live on, in fact, hes probably kicking himself in heaven as he looks at how

f-cked up we have got, but, I don't want to rush Lorelai, if shes not ready to move on, its fine. Shes always been there for us, its our turn to do the same"

"you're right" I sighed "I just.. miss her. Shes so quiet nowadays, and lost. But shes locking us all out, normally, when she does this, we had Luke who got through to her, this time..." I trailed off, Finn sighed, not sure how to reply, and settled for hugging me

"we will be okay, we always are" he whispered, closing his eyes and resting his chin on my head

00000000000000000

FINN'S POV:

"Finn, psttt" and thats how a tapestry swallowed me whole.

Or how Marcus pulled me behind a tapestry

"aww, Marky boy, you know I don't swing that way" I joked, pinching his cheeks

"shut it, you perv" he snapped, hitting my hands away, my grin dropped at his serious expression

"what happened?" I asked

"its Lore, she hasnt been sleeping well, I got her to admit to me that for the last week she has only been having three hours sleep per night" he explained, seeing my concern face at the word 'Lore'

"seriously? Why? I thought she promised us all she would stop that!" I protested, right after Lucas passed away, Lorelai refused to sleep at night, claiming the night mares were too bad

"nightmares!" I suddenly exclaimed, realization hitting me

"what?" replied Mark, confused as heck. Why do people always get that feeling after talking to me?  
"Last time, when Lorelai stopped sleeping, it was because every time she did, she had nightmares about Lucas, do you think those nightmares have started again?" I explained, ruffling my brown hair in thought

"maybe" began Marcus "I mean, it would make sense. But she took those potions, to help her have a dreamless sleep, did she stop them?"

"yeah, Ann told me she stopped about 8 months ago" I informed him, nightmares, of course

"shit, well lets pick some up for her from the wing" Mark responded

"and you think she will take them?" I questioned, skeptical, last year, it took three interventions, two screaming matches, and eight threats to take her off the quidditch team to get her to down the medicine.

Hey, no one said the girl was perfect,

"she better, I am not going through that shit again" replied Marcus determinedly

naive Mark.

"I AM NOT TAKING THE BLOODY POTION!" Lorelai screamed from the centre of the room, her hair was loose behind her, and her grey eyes were sparkling in determination and anger. It looked like a scene from a movie or some shit

"YES YOU F-CKING WELL ARE! WE ARE NOT GOING THROUGH THE SAME SHIT AS LAST YEAR, TAKE THE GODDAMN POTION LORELAI!" Marcus shouted (men don't scream, he tells me) from his place opposite Lorelai where he was glaring at her, eyes wide with the same determination as her, but also concern

"MARCUS JORDAN HAYWOOD" oohhhh, she just full named his ass "I AM NOT TAKING THE F-CKING POTION! NOW PISS OFF BEFORE I STICK THIS BOOK UP YOUR ARSE TO REMOVE THE STICK THATS BEEN THERE FOR CENTURIES!" she screamed back, waving her book in the air. Yup, totally a teen drama movie

"LORELAI KATHERINE BECKETT" ooohhhh, this is getting good , I glanced at Anna, grinning in amused, but she just shook her head at me and covered her eyes with her hands in exasperation. Jeez, people call me a drama queen, I mean, king

"Lorelai, please, just take the potion, you need it, Mark is only doing it because he is concerned about your health!" Anna tried, standing next to her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder

"no, hes doing it because he is an arsehole" she growled, glaring at Mark

"oh yes Lorelai, thats it, I want you to take a potion for my own amusement" he replied sarcastically

"I am glad you admitted it" Lorelai spoke with the same amount of sarcasm, before storming up the stairs.

They all need therapy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

the next day

Anna's POV:

"hey Lore, how did you sleep?" I asked as Lore sat down next to us, pouring herself a cup of coffee and yawning loudly. There had been a lot of tension between everyone since the screaming match Lore and Mark had in the common room last night, and I was desperately trying to get them to make up, so I had resorted to small talk, pathetic? maybe

"probably not well, seeing as she refuses to take the god damn potion" Mark muttered under his breath, stabbing his eggs violently

not responding, Lorelai simply decided to send him the finger

"guys" I groaned "can't you two just hug and make up? Skip the drama for once?" I begged, rubbing my eyes. The _last_ thing this group needed was a fight

"if Mark apologizes for being a stubborn, interfering arsehole, then sure" shrugged Lorelai, downing her coffee and pouring herself some more. It scared me how she drank coffee like it was shots.

"and if Lorelai apologizes for being an annoying b-tch, then, why not?" Mark shot back

"screw you Haywood" she bit, storming off

"Markkk" I whined, rubbing my forehead

"sorry Anna" he apologized, having the decency to seem guilty "Lore just needs to realize that she can't act like this. Not taking care of herself, scaring us, and then not taking any help. Its not right"

"I know, but, cut her some slack, please?" I tried again

"fine, but I am not apologizing"

so damn stubborn.

groaning, I plopped myself onto the arm chair, curling up into a ball near the fire, it was freezing!

"well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" I heard Fred's amused voice, and lifted my head to see him standing above me, grinning

I didn't respond, focusing on getting warm, so I chose to simply flip him off.

"so, whats got you into such a good mood?" he asked sarcastically, sitting on the chairs arm

"my friends are idiots" I moaned, covering my eyes, maybe I could simply sleep until they sort out their problems.

"aww, I am sure they love you too"

"piss off Fred, you are too annoying for me to deal with" I responded, tired. Its sad how much I had been sleeping lately.

"sorry Annie, I will try to be serious" he informed me, before bursting out into laughter "me-serious-yeah right" he chuckled.

I frowned, "you really are a nutter, arent you?"

"so I have been told" he shrugged "so, does your friends being idiots have to do with the screaming b-tch fit they had yesterday?"

"pretty much"

"serious? Mark is annoyed over a sleep potion? You Americans really are dramatic"

"its not that-' I froze, I couldn't tell him without telling him how bad Lore got last year, and hence telling him about Luke. "never mind, we will work it out, we always do"

those words had been uttered so many times by us four, it felt more like a formality than something that I believed in. because, was everything _really_ going to be okay? Was Lorelai ever going to come out of her shell? Were we ever going to be able to talk about Luke, with smiles on our face as a feeling of nostalgia washed over us? ot were we going to continue to have to watch what we say, incase Lorelai randomly burst out, or more likely, crawled even deeper into her shell? The latter seemed most likely to happen

but, I had to have hope, because thats all that I could do at this moment. So, I kept to the words I spoke, praying that they would come true.

00000000000000000

FINN'S POV:

"so, whos going back next week for the holidays?" Rose asked. We were all lying in my dorm, and by all of us, I mean the Wotters, the honorary Wotter, and us, we had to cast a extendable charm on the room, but it was just to cold outside to stay in the grounds.

One by one, the Wotters and their british friends announced they were, and Rose scribbled it down so she could tell their Nana, as apparently she went all out for the feast.

"what about you guys?" Rose asked, looking at the four of us. I had my head resting on my bed rest, with Lore lying next to me, her feet on my bed rest. Anna was lying with her head next to Lore, and her feet falling off the bed, and Mark was resting on the floor, leaning against my bed. Mark and Lore thankfully hadn't had any fights since the breakfast debacle, but that may be because Anna looked like she was going to cry

we all glanced at Lore, the three of us had agreed along time ago that we would go were Lorelai went, to show support

"Lore? You staying?" Anna asked cautiously, trying to not let Lore on to the fact that we were all going to follow her

she didn't reply, seeming to be deep in thought, before answering slowly "i think so... I have been meaning to go see.. you know" she was referring to the graveyard "and.,.. I promised Sky I would come visit her"

"Sky?" Lily asked, curious

"my sister, Skylar" responded Lorelai

"you have a sister?" Rose questioned, shocked

"yeah.. shes 10," Lorelai told them, not seeing it as a big deal that they didn't know

"whats she like?" Selena spoke, polite, but genuinely curious

"shes.. a spitball of energy" Lorelai began,and the first time in weeks, she was genuinely smiling "she _cannot_ stay still. Loves talking, mother always has to tell her to stop and breathe. Shes definitely my favourite sibling" Lorelai always loved bragging about her sister, who she loved. Hell, Sky was the only reason Lore went home

"favourite sibling? You have other siblings?" Fred asked, I looked around to see the whole Wotter family listening intently, it was nice how they genuinely did want to learn more about us

"yeah, Elizabeth, shes 25, Blaze, who is 23, then there is Alexander, who just turned 21, me, and finally Skylar"

"I thought you were the only child" Rox mused, surprised

"I wish" snorted Lorelai in response

"well, if Lores heading back to America, I will too, I miss mom and dad" Anna told them, smiling at her friend

"i guess Mark and I will too" I said slowly, nodding at him. In all honestly, I did not want to go back at all. I hated my parents, and the mere thought of going back to them, made me pissed of

seeming to sense my distant, Rose spoke "you can come to the burrow with us, if you like"

"No, we don't want to crash your family stuff" I protested, although secretly, I wished she protested

"course you won't. Scorp's already done that enough times" she replied, grinning cheekily at the blonde haired boy, he frowned, and flicked her, but in a playful way "seriously, Nana Molly would love it! She loves feeding people. And when she sees how skinny you all are, it will be like she hit a gold mine!"

"if you are sure" Mark confirmed

"course!" chimed in Lily, grinning at the prospect of more people

"we can now have a Quidditch tournament!" Rox smiled

"okay, well, I still wanna go to America, so how about we meet up with you all in the second week?" Anna suggested

"there is no way in hell I can spend a week in that pit, can't we do three days?" Lorelai asked, shuddering at thought

"oh, sure" Anna responded, upset that she didn't get to see her parents for long, but happy that Lorelai was actually speaking

"okay, its settled then, you are all having a Wotter Christmas!" Fred exclaimed

00000000000000000000000000

MARCUS'S POV

"hey" I spoke, sitting down on the balcony next to Lorelai

"what do you what?" she replied, not angry, but dismissive. I suppose its better than her hating me

"I wanted to apologize" I began

she shrugged, 'okay"

I sighed, no one said this would be easy, I mean, it was Lorelai after all, I would be shocked if she made it easy "I didn't mean to shout at you, or call you a b-tch. I just.. I am worried about you Lore, I hate that you push us away, and pretend that everything is okay when it isn't" I rambled, running my hands through my hair in frustration

"its okay, I am sorry too" she responded, quietly, but I could hear her clearly as it was only us in the astronomy tower "I just.. I hate how everyone is treating me like I am about to fall apart! I mean, its worse than when we got those sympathetic looks from strangers at Ilvermorny, because you all are my best friends. And we all lost Luke, I am not the only one!"

"I know Lore, but the rest of us.. we took help. We broke down. We cried. And we mourned. You? You haven't done any of that! You shut yourself away and refuse to mourn, and its not healthy. Luke would have wanted you to continue living" I spoke sincerely. And it was true, Luke was probably kicking himself up in wizarding heaven, swearing at us for being so stupid and not moving on.

"i can't" I whipped my head round to look at Lorelai, shocked at her voice. She sounded so weak, so fragile.. like she was going to break any second.. it scared me, and looking at her was even worse, her cheeks had sunken in, and her eyes were red from lack of sleep and had bags under them, her usual sparkling grey eyes, were no longer glittering in excitement, they now resembled an empty void

"I _can't_ move on. I tried, I really did! Its just... I miss him too damn much"

"Lorelai, its okay too miss him. I still do, ever

f-cking day. I don't mean to _forget_ about him. There is a difference between moving on, and forgetting. I would never want you to forget about him, but I just.. I miss you Lore" I sighed

"I am sorry" she whispered, her voice breaking "I will try"

"thats all I am asking for" I responded, pulling her into a tight hug, allowing her to rest her head on my chest

we were going to be okay. We had to be. For Lucas.

00000000000000000000000000

LORELAI'S POV

I promised Mark I would try. And I meant it. I was being extremely selfish, not focusing on my friends and letting my them worry about me. It wasn't fair. I had to move on, for Ann, for Mark, for Finn. But most importantly, for Lucas.

"oh thank Merlin, I thought you two had killed each other!" Mark and I turned around from where we had been resting and talking about random shit, to see Anna rushing towards us, Finn trailing behind her lazily

"sh-t I was hoping you finished off Haywood, Lore, I have been eying his broom for a while now" joked Finn, leaning against the pillar of the tower

"Finn!" gasped Anna, smacking his arm, Finn shrugged, grabbed her hand and pulled her into a side hug, ruffling her hair

"Findley! Leave me alone!" she shrieked,

"jeez, someone is uptight" he smirked, letting her go

"thats because I have a physco as a friend" she shot back, fixing her hair

"thanks Love" he replied lazily, ruffling his own hair

"so, why weren't we invited to this party?" he asked sarcastically, sitting down next to me, grabbing Anna round the waist and pulling her down, so she plopped in the middle of us

"stop pissing around West!" she scolded, although their was a light smile on her face, showing she wasn't really angry

"Oh, you know, Mark and I didn't want you part popper to ruin the fun" I responded dismissively

"hey! Thats just Anna!" protested Finn, indignantly

"I am not a party popper!" Anna retorted, glaring at him

"yeah, you kinda are, An" Mark answered, but quickly hid behind me as Anna shifted her glare to him

"I am not!" she repeated

"sure you aren't mini A" Finn told her, condescendingly, ruffling her hair, yet again

"STOP IT!" she growled, shoving him

I laughed "okay guys, stop torturing Ann, shes going to explode"

"thank you Lore, thats why you are my favourite" she grinned, shooting a smug look at the boys

"I am so jealous" responded Mark, ruffling his hair

"will you two be back for Christmas eve?" asked Finn suddenly

"yeah, why?" I replied, there was no way in hell I was spending Christmas in America with my family

"we can't ruin tradition" he responded cheekily

"of course we won't!" Mark exclaimed

it was a tradition, see, every Christmas Eve for the five, well, now four, of us to go flying at exactly 12 o clock, we would then spend about an hour in the air, just flying together, before going to the nearest bar and getting smashed. The drinking began in third year, before that, we would get on a sugar high.

It was silly, how we still continued with such silly traditions. But for us, it was so important.

"yeah, Lore and I will fly out on the 19, and be back for the 23, hopefully, as long as there is no delay"

that was another weird thing we did, we flew, instead of just portkeying or apparating.

For Anna, it was because she had grown up around planes, as she was a muggle born, and for me, it was mainly because I loved pissing my parents off. And because I loved being in the air, but mainly it was to annoy my mother. Funny, how such small things can please me so much.

"great! James said that we can stay at his place for the first four days, apparently they go to the burrow on the 23, so we will meet you there?" Mark confirmed, we nodded our head in agreement, and fell into a comfortable silence, until Mark spoke quietly

"hey Lore?"

"Mhmmm?" I hummed in answer to show I was listening

"say hello to him for me, okay?" he whispered, but it was quiet enough for us all to say

"me too" Finn chimed in

"I will" I responded, and for the first time, the pain in my heart was less when I remembered. Thats a start, I suppose.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7:

Anna's POV:

"you ready?" I asked, pulling my rucksack onto my shoulder, and looking at Lore

"definitely" she responded, determination in her voice, as she looked back at me

"lets go home then" I smiled, walking up onto the airplane, and handing over my passport and ticket.

It was the nineteenth of december, and Lore and I had just said goodbye to the boys after we got off the Hogwarts Express, before hopping in a cab and driving to the airport were we would be heading to America.

So many emotions were going through me. On one hand, I was excited, I missed my family back home, I missed them so much. I was also worried, even though Lorelai had vastly improved over the last week, she had began to take the potion and tried her best to be as open as possible, I didn't know what going back to America would do. I had a fear that it would make her close up, but then I also had a hope that she would instead, come to peace with everything and move on. I was upset to be going back to America, and spending my first winter break without the boys. I guess, I was just anxious to know what would happen.

"7 and 8, thats us" Lorelai spoke, gesturing

to the seats in front of us. Breaking out of my train of thoughts, I nodded and walked towards our assigned seats. Lorelai slipped in first, as I knew she loved the window seat, something about being able to see the clouds above her and ground beneath that made her feel in control. I slipped in after her, grateful that the plane was relatively empty and no one would be sitting with us on the third seat.

"you excited?" I asked her, tucking my rucksack into the compartment above me.

"yeah, thats one word" she shrugged indifferently

"and the others?" I pushed, I had been trying to get Lorelai to open up for a while, yeah, she had gotten better, but I was desperate for things to get back to normal

"I just hate my parents" she admitted, keeping her face impassive

"I know" I sighed "but dont worry, we won't see them. You are staying with me for the days we are there, and the only reason you will go back to your house is too see Skylar, and we can take her out so you don't have to stay there"

I hated Lorelai's parents too. They were the worst, and thats so weird coming from me, as I usually tried to look for the best in everyone. But there was _nothing_ good at those cold hearted hell hounds. I hated how they could get to Lore, even though she would pretend they didn't.

"I know, but being in the same _country_ as them gives me the creeps" she joked, smiling slightly, I smiled back at her, glad to see the carefree Lore I remembered coming back, slow and steady.

000000000000000

a few hours earlier

Mark's POV:

"I ALREADY APOLOGIZED! I LOVE RALPH! I WASN'T JUST GOING TO _LEAVE_ HIM" shouted Lore loudly as the four of us tumbled into the compartment with our friends, panting from the run

"its a toy Rhino, you very well could of" replied Finn, sitting down next to James

"its not just a toy Rhino, tell him, An!" protested Lore, plopping herself next to Rox, who was watching the whole scene in amusement, along with the rest of the group

"I gave Lore that Rhino in second year after I realised she resembles a rhino while yawning. She gave it a name and even remembers his birthday" explained Anna, grinning at her friends antics in amusement

"Ralph Ricotto is my best friends, better than you shall ever be" Lorelai told Finn solemnly

"take that back!" Finn exclaimed

"never!'

"take it back!"

"not if you begged"

"bint"

"arsehole"

"physco"

"jerk face"

"GUYS! SHUT UP!" Anna finally shouted, stopping their fight

"thank you Annie" I told her, those two can get _really_ annoying when they want too

"no problem, it was that or hexing them into next week" she winked, causing me to laugh. Thats the great thing about Anna, everyone thought of her as thing giant nerd, but I knew her better, I knew that she was deep down a mischievous, prank loving gal

"so, can I ask a very important question?" Fred asked, after Finn and Lore finished their thumb wrestle, I don't even want to know. "why did you call your toy rhino, Ralph Ricotto?"

"it was the first two names I thought of" Lore shrugged in answer, and knowing her, it was really as simple as that.

"wanna play something?" asked Lily from her spot next to Hugo and Al

"sure, what do you wanna play?" Anna responded sweetly, she always had a sweet spot for kids younger than her

"lets play truth or dare, whiskey edition!" suggested Fred excited

"Fred! Lily and Hugo are in the compartment! Plus, where the hell do you think we are going to find whiskey?" Roxanne scolded, it was funny to see her so desperately try and keep her brother in check

"ugh, I knew these buggers would only keep us back" he groaned

"lets play never have I ever?" suggested Selena, she was squished in between James and Rox,

"sure!" grinned the compartment in agreement

"no whiskey?" pouted Fred

"no whiskey" consoled Ben, grinning at his friends dismay

"never have I ever played drunk quidditch and then proceeded to skinny dip" laughed Lorelai, looking pointedly at Anna.

The never have I ever game had now turned into a competition with the girls, Finn and I too see who could embarrass each other the most. It was great, and the Wotters seemed extremely amused

with no shame, Lore took a fake galleon and chucked it into her pile. Instead of drinking, we would chuck a galleon into our pile if we had done the work, and the winner would be decided by the person with the most coins. So far, Lore and Finns piles were the highest, and mine and Annas coming close second. The others, had a lot less, but James and Dom weren't doing too bad

"how come we weren't invited?!" Finn glared playfully

"because Mark, you and Luke decided to have a 'no girls night' in retaliation to the fact we wanted to have a slumber party without you fools" Anna chuckled. Immediately, Finn, Mark and I went quiet, glancing at Lore worried, that was the first time any of us had ever just thrown Lukes name into a conversation

"shit, Lore, I-" Anna began, but Lore waved her off

"stop worrying An, like I would get embarrassed over wanting a slumber party" Lore snorted, covering Luke's name from the Wotters, and I knew she did that to get us off her backs

"never have I eaten twenty seven chocolate frogs in a row, only to get beaten by Finn" I shouted quickly, distracting the others from Lore and Anna, who kept on glancing worriedly at her red headed friend

"The f-ck? That was specifically aimed at me you d-ck" Finn swore, glaring at me, and throwing a coin in his pile

"payback is so sweet" I smirked in response. It was true, I was getting Finn back for his previous one, where he asked "never have I ever gone late to class because I was puking up 39 pumpkin pastries" in my defense, I was also drunk... I am not helping myself, am I?

"I see how it is" he glared in reply, and I could see the revenge wheels turning in his mind. Shit

"guys, lets count our galleons, we are almost at the station" Rose spoke, and it was true, the green fields had began shifting into buildings and I knew we would arrive in about twenty minutes

in the end, it was Lorelai who won, mainly because despite popular belief, she was definitely the craziest, Finn came one point behind her with 187, because in the last half hour of the game, the three of us teamed up against him. Anna and I tied third, and Fred tied in fourth with James and Dom. The rest coming into later positions.

"I can almost smell Nana's chocolate pie!" moaned Fred, stretching in his seat and almost hitting his twin in the face, this landed in the two of them brawling on the floor. Ahh, siblings.

"shut up, I am trying to not think about it, we have four days, I can't wait that long" James groaned, rubbing his stomach for emphasis

"you lot have Hogwarts feasts every night, stop being ungrateful" joked Anna

"Anna, you don't get it, Nana Molly's pie is like no others. Its a scared piece of edible greatness." replied Fred solemnly, he would of continued with his speech if Rox hadn't slapped him on the back of the head

"they get the point, you weirdo"

"it is really good" she confirmed

"I am going to miss you" whispered Anna into my ear as I hugged her. The train had just arrived on the station and after we got our luggage, Finn and I went to say our goodbyes to the girls before finding the Wotters

"I will too, take care of Lore, okay? And give her family a punch from me?" I replied, hugging her tightly, I was going to miss this nerd

"I will not punch them... maybe a dungbomb?" she suggested cheekily, I chuckled and ruffled her hair before she walked over to say goodbye to Finn, who pulled her into a noogie as soon as she approached. That won't end well

"I guess this is goodbye, Haywood" Lore spoke awkwardly, she was never good at showing any form of emotion, the poor thing.

"c'me here Beckett" I grinned, pulling her into a tight hug and swinging her round

"I am going to miss you Red" I told her, not letting her go, even though she seemed extremely awkward. This was my last time to tease her for a while after all

"Mark, let me go" she muffled through my jacket

"not until you admit you will miss me too" I retorted childishly

"fine! I kinda maybe sorta might miss you!" she groaned, I smirked, satisfied and let her go

"I suppose thats the best I will get from you, hey?" I asked

"probably" Lore smirked, her red hair extremely messy from the noogies Finn had (tried) to give her

"take care of yourself, okay?" I told her, suddenly serious

"don't worry, I will" she assured me, I just raised my eyebrow at her "or at least Ann will" she amended

"don't do anything stupid" I commanded her

"yes _mother_ "she repeated agitated, I knew she didn't really mind though

"and punch everyone whos a jerk, kay?" I grinned, knowing she would follow through with this one

"now you're talking" she grinned back

I hugged her one more time before Anna told me they had to go. Finn and I walked them both to the cabs on the other side of the platform before heading back to the Wotters

"Finn, Mark! Come meet my lovely mother" James grinned, I wonder what he was trying to get out of.

Finn and I exchanged amused looks before walking over to a crowd of red heads.

"its nice to meet you, Mrs Potter" I smiled, kissing her hand. Hey, one perk of going to all of my mom's lame parties was I learnt good manners. Finn, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten anything he was forced to learn while he attended his fathers bank parties, as he was staring at Ginny Potter, mouth opened

"Y-your Ginny Potter!" he chocked out, pointing at her.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Finns obsession with her

"yes, I am" she grinned back amused. Thats good, at least Finn hadn't freaked out the people we were staying with, yet.

"as in the Holyhead Harpies best chaser ever!" he expanded

"well, thats sweet of you-" she began, but Finn cut her in. jeez, chill dude. I don't want to be homeless for the next few days.

"I have watched all of your games on the OmniTech" (A/N, not original, I know, but its a play on Omnioculars and Technology)

"you are literally the coolest Quidditch player ever!" he finished

"thank you, thats extremely kind of you. Are you interested in quidditch?" Ginny asked him, Merlin, save us all. This is going to take hours.

"Yes! I want to join the Tutshill Tornados after I graduate!" he puffed his chest proudly. Prick. Joking, its good he has some goals

"which position?" questioned Ginny, curious

"Beater, along with Marky-boy here" he grinned, patting my shoulder, I waved at her again, wondering if she still remembered me after she was bombarded by Finn

"why the hell would you go for the bloody Tutshill when Puddlemere exists?" James stated, walking towards us after finishing his conversation with his Uncle George

"James! Language" scolded Ginny, causing Finn and I too snicker, quietly

"sorry Mum" he muttered, sticking his hands in his pocket, embarrassed. Oohh, new material to torture Potter with

"anyways, I think the tutshills are a great team. I got offered a spot with them in my day. I actually know some of the managers, would you like me to send them your names? Butter them up maybe?" she asked politely.

Finn and I looked at each other as though Christmas had come early.

"yes! That would be great! Thank you so much!" I responded, not trusting Finn to respond and not embarrass himself further

"its no problem, they were asking me if Hogwarts was worth scouting seeing as James is the captain of the team" she smiled, I love this women already

"now, James go find your brother so we can get home"

LORELAI'S POV

"there you girls are!" smiled Mr Peyton l as we

got out of the airport with our luggage

"daddy!" squealed Anna, running to give him a tight hug, he chuckled and swung her around

"therees my favourite red head!" he smiled, opening his arms for me too hug

"hey Mr. P" I laughed as he hugged me, swinging me around too

"how was your girls first term?" he asked, swinging our suitcases onto the cart and wheeling it behind him. Mr Peyton was so cool, he was like my dad, and I knew he cared about me in the same way he cared about Anna. He was thrilled when he found out I liked Quidditch as Anna had zero tolerance for it

"it was great, we didn't get expelled, so overall, I would say it was successful" I joked

"only you would judge a term on whether you got expelled or not" Mr P replied, sticking his tongue out.

Laughing, the two of us followed him to his carefree

"There are my girls!" squealed Mrs. Peyton as we pulled us into the garage of the Peyton's house. There house was one of my favourite places ever.

Anna lived in the country side, her house was a big three story white building and her garden was never ending. The house was situated in the middle of a field, so her garden was basically the whole field until where her dad had set up a large fence. She had her own horses too, as her dad owned a horse riding school.

'hey mom' grinned Anna, pulling her mother into a tight hug. It was funny because Mrs Peyton was the same height as her daughter, they looked more like siblings than mother-daughter

"lorelai!" exclaimed Mrs P before pulling me into a tight hug, I smiled and hugged her back

"oh you have grown so much!" she began, leading us into the house "I am so glad Annie has stopped growing, imagine the robes otherwise!"

it was true, Anna was extremely short, something that Finn loved to tease her about.

"I am making fresh pizza for tonight, with some soup, its so cold right now I thought the soup would be more appreciated. You girls go upstairs and get ready now, Anna, your cousins will be arriving soon'

Anna had a massive family, she had three brothers and a sister, all of whom were elder than her. There was Sam Peyton, who was 26, then Carla Peyton, she was 25. Oscar Peyton was 24 and finally Bradon Peyton was 22. despite the age gap between Anna and her siblings, they were extremely close, and all loved Anna a lot. Besides that, her dad had four brothers, all with children, and her mother had one brother and two sisters, all married. Thats why the third floor of Annas house was full of guest rooms for when her family came to stay.

Annas room was in the attic, her dad had converted it into a room for her after her and Carla had a huge fight while sharing a room, and even after Carl's left, Anna stayed in the attic, I mean, who would give that up?

Annas room was the dream room for any teen. The walls were a light violet, the floor was wooden, and in the centre there was a white fur rug. A bed in the corner, which was Anna's and a bed next to it that was added in when she was 12 for me. She had a walk in closest, that Sam and her dad had made for her, and a bunch of other bits and bobs like a writing desk.

"Lets enjoy today before my crazy family arrives" Anna half joked, its true, all her cousins on her dads side, the ones who were visiting, were younger than her, and extremely loud.

I lay on my bed and looked up at the ceiling which was charmed to look out onto the sky, it was currently full of stars "I dont' wanna moveee" I moaned

"too bad, I am hungry" she replied, throwing a pillow at me. Groaning, I stood up and headed towards the washroom, I can't wait to go to sleep

FINN'S POV

"woah, your house is so cool James" Mark said, staring at the large brick house in front of us

"thanks, dad wanted a small house, but mum shut that idea down after pointing out who big her family was" he replied, helping us with our luggage

"James, go show the boys to their room, Finn can take Fred's usual room and Mark can take the guest room. Marcus, I am sorry, I know the room is a bit- white, but Teddy is going to be coming back and will need his room" Mark smiled and told her it was fine. Charmer

"Teddy is coming home? Brilliant!" James grinned

"who's Teddy?" I asked, I know they had a big family, but I can't remember a Teddy being mentioned

"my god brother. Hes wicked cool, we only got to go to Hogwarts together for one year though, seeing as he graduated while I was in year one. You will love him though, hes bloody wicked" James told us, clambering up the stairs with his truck behind him, ,Mark and I followed his lead as he took us to the second floor and two rooms opposite each other

"Finn, you are staying in there, and Mark, you in there, if you need anything, ask Al " he smirked, Albus came into view and hit him on the back of his head

"for the last time, you pillock , I am not a bloody house elf" Al glared

"suer, whatever floats your boat"

"okay, so, we are going to the burrow on the 23, which means I want you lot to have your christmas presents bought and packed by the 21, not excuses, James" Ginny informed us as we sat on the dining table digging into a delicious mince pie and soup

"hey! I am not the only one here!" James protested

"yes, but you are the only one who will try to get out of it" she replied simply

"boys, your friends will be meeting us at the Burrow?" Ginny asked us, I nodded my head while responding

"yeah, we told em that we would pick them up from the airport, their flight gets in at 4"

"oh, well if you need Harry to apparate you there, just ask"

"thanks, but its okay, Anna hates apparating, so we told them that we could get a cab back" I smiled, its true, Anna despises apparating. Last thing she did it, she spent the whole day with a migraine.

After food, we all went upstairs into our rooms, as it was pretty late. Instead of going into my room, I followed Mark into his

"have the girls contacted you yet?" Mark asked me as I plopped onto his bed, he kicked me to show I wasn't welcomed, but I ignored it

"no, jeez, its only been a couple of hours, give them some time"

'I know, I am just worried about them, especially Lore, she hasn't been back there in ages" he sighed

"Don't worry, shes got Anna, and besides, she gotten better, she will be fine" I assured him

at that moment though, my phone began to ring, Anna insisted I got one in my second year

"hello?" I spoke once I answered it

"Finn? Its Anna" spoke a voice, I grinned, speak of the devil and the devil shall appear

"Anna'-banana!" I greeted, putting the phone on speaker so Mark could hear

"Mark is here too" I told her "hey An's, whats up?" he asked her, moving closer to the phone

"nothing much, Lore and I just got to the house and are relaxing, aka, Lore is being a lazy arse and won't move"

"I am bloody full, your mom knows how to make one hell of a pizza!" came Lore's voice

"hey Red" I smirked, even though she couldn't see me

"gross, and here I was thinking I could go a week without hearing your annoying voice" she groaned. Meanie.

"aww, you love me really" I responded, grinning

"not really" retorted Lorelai

"okay, you two are so not starting a fight while you are across oceans. Annie, why'd you call? Miss us already?" Mark spoke

"hah, funny. More like making sure Mrs Potter hadn't killed you lot in an attempt to shut you idiots up" I swear this was classified as verbal abuse

"no, in fact, Ginn loves us, she promised to contact the Tutshills to get an interview for when we graduated" boasted Mark, high fiving me

'seriously? As in the Tutshill f-cking Torandos? NO WAY!" exclaimed Lorelai excitedly. Lore was a die hard Tutshill Torandos fan, she had watched all their games. Last year she even died her hair blue to support them for the finals. It was an obsession for her and Luke

"yeah, I know! Its so cool" I grinned, I couldn't wait I finally felt like I was actually doing something in life, I was so going to rub this into my dads face.

We spoke for a while longer, joking around, before Anna told us that they had to sleep as their cousins were coming round in a couple of hours.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"two days later"

ANNA'S POV

"I have to visit my Nan's today, you wanna come?" I asked Lore as we got ready in my room.

It was pretty cold for America, so I had wrapped my self into a light blue Christmas sweater and dark blue jeans and threw a grey cardigan over it. I could almost hear Rox's voice in my ear telling me I was supporting other houses. She was a true Gryffindor. Her closet full of red and gold.

"no, it's okay, I think I will spend the day alone" she told me, pulling a black leather jacket over her grey full sleeve top and boots over her black jeans

"oh, what are you going to do?" I asked her interested, combing my hair

"I'm thinking of visiting Luke" she whispered, biting her lip. I froze, before returning to brushing my hair.

"I can cancel Nan's today, come with you?" I suggested, watching her cautiously

"no, its okay, you miss your Nan... plus, I think.. I think I need to do this on my own. No offense" she rushed

"none taken" I smiled at her "but if you need me, just call okay? And don't do anything stupid'-"

She cut me off "Anna, dont worry" she laughed "besides, I am going to see Emily afterwards, so I don't have time to do something stupid" she joked

"you are going to see Mrs Bishop?" I asked her, shocked

"yeah, she invited me round for tea, and I miss the girls" she responded, pulling her hair into a bun

"okay, great. Just, call me if you need anything?" I checked with her

"I will" she smiled, bouncing down the stairs, calling out to mom and asking her what the amazing smell was. Charmer.

America was doing good for Lore so far. She seemed... happy. But I still was worried, going to Luke's grave could mean two things, she either manages to find peace with his death, or goes back to closing herself up. I hope it's the first.

Finn's POV

"YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT, JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!"

for such a small girl, Lily Potter sure had a pair of lungs on her

"I didn't mean to I swear! It's Quidditch, Lils, what do you expect?" James defended himself, dodging the fists of his sister.

"NOT FOR MY OWN BROTHER TO THROW A QUAFFLE AT MY FRICKEN ARM!" she screamed

"What on earth is going on?" Ginny asked, running to us

"James threw a Quaffle at my head!" Lily accused, pointing at her brother

"it was an accident mum! I swear, I aimed for the hoop, but Lily flew in the way!" protested James, standing a bit further away, as if to shield himself from the red heads. Wise move mate, wise move

"oh Merlin" sighed Ginny, pinching her forehead. I had a feeling she dealt with this a lot.

"James, apologise to Lily, and be careful next time. And Lily, don't call your brother an idiot, and don't say fricken." she commanded, before walking away and muttering under her breath. I heard the words "Merlin" "what did I do?" and "I would rather fight dragons", and held in a snicker

"I am sorry Lils" James apologised, stepping closer to her, but still leaving some space

"Me too, I guess I over reacted" she replied, and pulled her brother into a hug

siblings.

"oi, West, you up for a round of Quidditch?" James asked, pulling away from his sister and ruffling her hair, much to Lily's dismay

"sure, if you don't mind getting your arse kicked" I responded, running to the pitch

MARCUS'S POV'

"you would think that I would get cupcakes after being away from three months" after a day of quidditch, Ginny called us in for food, shivering and cold, Fred, Finn, James, Albus, Lily, Rox and I sat down to eat. I turned around as I heard a mans voice and saw a tall man with blue hair standing in the doorway, trailing a trunk behind him

"TEDDY!" squealed Lily, running to hug him. Oh, so this was the famous Teddy

"Teddy, mate!" James grinned, fist bumping his godbrother

"Teddy, you should of told me you were coming home today! You said tomorrow!" scolded Ginny after Teddy had hugged his god siblings and cousins. She glared at him, but hugged him, nonetheless

"look at you! All bones! Come, sit, so I can feed you!" she commanded, James and Albus exchanged faces behind their mothers back, snickering at her motherly instincts

"sorry Gin, I got out early, I would've told you, but I thought it would be easier to just visit" he explained, taking a seat next to Lily and I.

"Oi, which one of our crazy family members reproduced while I was away?" he joked, staring at Finn and I

"Teddy" scolded Ginny, flicking his head "these are the kids friends, Marcus and Finn, they are staying with us for the holidays"

"it's nice to meet you. Let me apologise for you having to suffer with James" Teddy grinned, shaking our hands

"hey! Like you are any better, I swear, would it kill ya to make the bed once in a year?" James protested

"sorry _mum_ " smirked Teddy.

Even though I had only been staying her for two days, I felt like I was more at home than I did at my own place, and I knew that Finn felt the same. The Potters had been more than welcoming, and made us all feel at home. But, the fact still stood, that the Potters were extremely different from our families. I still found it weird how they would joke and laugh at the dinner table, in our family, dinner was spent with mom hounding the house elf for preparing her salad wrong, and dad scarfing down his food so he could get away from his crazy wife. No noise came besides the scraping of spoons and forks.

The Potters house wasn't dirty.. but it was more _lived in_ there were toys on the floor, and brooms on the chairs. Whereas in our house, everything was gleaming and house elves polished the ornaments 24/7

I definitely preferred this place and I knew Finn did too.

Lorelai's POV

After I left, I grabbed a cab that took me too Edinburgh, the town in which Luke and I lived. I walked down the familiar streets, breathing out and watching as my breath frosted.

As I neared the graveyard, I could feel my body resisting. I was ready to turn on my heel and run for it, but then I thought of Luke, and Gemma, and Emily, and Anna, Finn, Mark, and I felt my feet walking towards the graveyard.

Luke's tombstone was located very far from the gate, so it was quite a trek, I could tell someone had been here before, as the path was no longer covered with snow, like everywhere else. I reached his tombstone and gasped, there were various flowers and other presents covering the tomb, I knew people _knew_ Luke, but I never thought they would bother to remember him on Christmas. I picked up one of the flowers and read the card

 _Dear Lucas,_

 _thank you for always helping me. You will forever be missed, and remembered._

 _Xoxo,_

 _Amanda Friar_

I remembered Amanda, she was a year below us, and Luke and I pranked her boyfriend after he cheated on her and left her crying in a hallway. I even heard that after that Luke tutored her after finding out she was weak in DADA.

There were some flowers from various first years, well, they must be older now, thanking him. Luke used to tutor them on how to fly and if they were weak in a subject, he was really great that way. He would go around, helping anyone in need, even if they didn't want it, and not expect anything in return.

Hell, even his ex girlfriends had sent him flowers.

"Hi Luke" I swallowed, staring at his grave, etched on the stone was "Lucas Troy Bishop, protective brother, loving son, and loyal friend, watching over those left behind"

"I am sorry I haven't been here to visit for so long, it's hard, ya know, what with the whole moving country. But, I talked to McGonagall, she gave me permission to visit you monthly, I think... I think it was be good for me, you know? To see you, I mean. Keep my grasp on reality" I chuckled quietly "hell, what am I on about? I have no f-cking grasp on reality, at all. I just... Merlin, I miss you Bishop, so damn much. You really suck, leaving me with all this shit" and suddenly, all the anger, sadness, and frustration I had felt the past few months, just came flying out

"you had to leave, didn't you? You promised me you wouldn't, you promised me you would always be there for me. 'Screw dads, and your mom' , you told me, 'it's just me and you, Katy, dealing with shit, but we will always have each other' and then what? That lasted what? 6 years? Then you die? And you leave me. You know what really sucks? I _believed you,_ my whole f-cking life, I have had people tell me that they will _always_ be there for, and I never believed them, you know why? Because I _knew,_ I _knew,_ that when everything got f-cked up, they would bloody run! But you! I f-cking trusted you! I always trusted you! And then you left!" by this point, I was crouching in front of the tombstone, my knees damp from the snow, but I didn't _care, it felt so good._

"and you know what sucks?! I still f-cking blame myself. For that night, for what happened. I still blame my self. And that's what makes it worse" I took a shaking breath, and let out a low chuckle

"look at me? For months, the guys have been trying to get me to open up, to talk, and three minutes here, and I am babbling like a pathetic shit or something" sighing, I gave up, and sat in front of his grave, legs crossed, and hands shaking "I miss you, so damn much. And I keep on waiting, for it to stop. Stop hurting, stop making me feel empty, and sad. But it _won't_ "

calming down, I gestured to the gifts I brought "Finn and Mark are saying hi, they miss you too, and wanted to come, but Finn's father has been giving him a lot of shit lately, so I don't think he could handle coming here. They told me to buy you the latest Witch Broom magazine, and swimsuit edition of the _American Witches,_ idiots. Anna sends her love, shes going to come round tomorrow, and asked me to buy you the Tutshill Torandos latest sweater. And I got you some fine wine and gobstoppers. Just cuz you are dead, doesn't mean tradition can't continue" I laughed. Every winter, Luke and I would climb into the tree house we had made in the forest, and eat gobstoppers as we watched the sun come up, in our second year, we added some fine wine that I stole from my parents.

"You are probably wondering about everyone. Mark is good, so is Finn, Ginny offered to get them a spot on the Tutshills. You don't know Ginny, she's James' mom, who you won't know either. I will tell you all about them, don't worry" "Anna is great too, she was slightly screwed up at the beginning of the term, but I sorted it out, she's worried about all of us. But I told her it would be okay. She's set on making this year the best of our life, seeing as next year we will have NEWTS to focus on. Your mom is great, ever so in love with Seth, I am going to go see her today. Gemma is loving Ilvermorny. And is dominating the school now we have left. Olivia and Madison are now ever so energetic, but which 4 year olds aren't? And apparently Hazel can speak now, and crawl, she's an adorable two year old, I am seeing them today. And I will make sure they remember you, don't worry. I send letters to your mom all the time, so don't worry, she's in good hands. I wouldn't leave her. I couldn't do that to you, or her. She's like my mom" rambling, I changed the subject "Hogwart's is good..." I paused, and laughed "who am I kidding? It's shit. You would of hated it, they are so uptight, and strict. Finn got detention after getting to class five minutes late, apparently that's the time limit. Which makes his whole four minute rule even bloody worse, but he won't give it up, the idiot. I guess I can't speak, seeing as I joined him a couple of days ago" Finn had this rule that he would always get to class four minutes late. It started as a way to piss his dad off, as it meant more letters home, but now I think he liked the reputation he got.

"and they only have like six matches a year! It's so lame. But we met the Potters, and Weasleys. They call themselves Wotters. Don't ask. They are cool. I am pretty close with Rox, Dom, James and Fred seeing as they are in my grade. Rox is cool, she's really smart, and loves Quidditch. Literally, she's like the Garret Hodges of Hogwarts. Then there is Selena, she's in our dorm, she's really sweet, a good girl, but has a right mouth when you piss her off, it's so funny watching her go off at James. Dom is awesome, she's a 'take no shit' kinda girl, wants to be an Auror, so we usually study together. She's definitely the least nosy out of the lot, which is saying a lot, those Wotter's are bloody nosy. Then there is Fred, Rox's twin, he's a prankster, like his dad, makes bloody corny jokes, but Anna gets along with him for some reason. Dom has a brother, Louis, I dunno him that well, he keeps to himself, you don't see him often. She's got a sister, Victoire, but I haven't met her, cause she graduated. There's Ben, he's what you call an Honourary Potter, James and Fred have been close friends with him since they were firsties, I think Ben keeps them in check. Molly is the headgirl, bit strict, but she's nice enough, the mother of the group really. Her sister, Lucy, is the complete opposite of her, really bubbly, and loves to dye her hair, and sing, I have a feeling shes going to be a musician when she graduates, or drops out. Rose is a fifth year, dead smart, got a proper temper on her though, she can help Fred with his homework, which is funny, as they end up fighting a lot. She's got a brother, Hugo, who's bloody great at Chess. Hugo's friend and cousin, Lily, she's cool, got a mouth of her, must be a Weasley thing. Lily's got two brothers, Albus, whose pretty quiet, but loves a good prank. And James, you would love James, he reminds me a bit of you. Really nosy, quidditch captain, and doesn't know when to shut up. But he's actually really great when you get to know him, we fight a lot, I guess because he tries to butt in too much. I like him though, hes a great friend" I sighed again, fiddling with my hands, "you would of loved all of them. They are pretty great batch of kids. I am going to the Burrow, their Grandmothers house, for Christmas. Finn and Mark are staying at the Potters." glancing at my watch, I realised I had been talking for about an hour, about complete nonsense "shit! I promised your mom I would be there in fifteen minutes. I should go. But I promise I will visit more, I miss you, and I love you" standing up, I glanced one more time at the tomb stone and empty wine bottles and gobstoppers I had eaten, and turned away.

Hopefully, this would help me.

"LORIE!" was all I heard before I was attacked by two blonde haired midgets. With the force of two tots, I tumbled over onto the grass and watched as they climbed all over me

"we missed you!" grinned Olivia, her blue eyes peering at my face

"this much!" smiled Madison, opening her arms wide

"I missed you too, squirts!" I grinned, pulling them both up with me, they were pretty light, so it was easy to hold them both with one hand each

"your hair is so long!" admired Maddy, fingering my red hair which had opened when I fell, and was now reaching my mid back

"thanks Love" I said, kissing her cheeks. I loved these guys, and missed them while I was in England

"Lorelai! Darling, there you are!" called Emily, bustling around in the kitchen, she put down her ladle, and gave me a giant hug, before putting me at arms length distance

"you have gotten even skinnier! I don't know how you do that! You and Lucas used to eat a whole turkey between just the two of you!" she rambled, stirring her soup which was bubbling violently

"Don't worry Emily, I have been eating just fine, the house elves make some epic food" I assured her, putting the twins on the kitchen slabs and sitting in between them, my feet dangling off the side

"you better be!" she responded, and turned around, giving me a good time to inspect her, her brown hair was still short, but better kept than the last time I saw her, and her blue eyes were shinning bright, she looked happier, since the last time I saw her

"how are you doing, Emily?" I asked her softly, tickling the twins who were begging for my attention

"I am good" she smiled softly "It's getting better, I still miss my boy, but now, I am remembering him with a smile"

"that's good, I am glad" I responded, the twins glanced at me questioningly, noticing my morbid expression, I smiled at them slightly, and tickled them some more. They knew about their brother, but not too much, as they were still young

"and what about you?" she asked me

"I am... good. An, Finn, and Mark have been really helping me... I just miss him" I told her honestly

"you and I both" she replied "how is Anna, and the boys?"

"they are good, Anna had to go to her Nan's but sends her love, the boys stayed in England"

"you must bring Anna round at least!, how's Hogwarts going?" before I could respond, I heard a joyful squeal

"LORELAI!" and was attacked by a blonde haired blob. Gemma.

"hey Gems" I grinned, hugging her back

"I missed you! You don't write enough!" she pouted, greeting her mom and the twins

"I write you every week" I responded, laughing

"not enough! I used to _see_ you every day in Ilvermorny! It's not the same"

"I know, Love. Sorry" I replied, playing with Olivias feet as Gem played with Maddie, these girls are going to end up so spoilt

"how are you though? How's Hogwarts? Oh! How's _England?!_ Have you been to London?! Oh! I have always wanted to go there! The _shops!_ The shoes!" she rambled, I grinned, same old Gemma, as jolly as ever. Even though I was closer to Luke, I loved Gemma like a sister, we spent quite a lot of time together in Ilvermorny, she was just so easy to get on with. She had super model looks, what with her bright blue eyes, blonde straight hair, killer height and elegant face, I remembered her and Luke getting into so many fights over the boys who she dated

"Gemma, darling, let the poor girl think" laughed her mom

"sorry" she muttered, ashamed

"it's okay. Hogwarts is great, way stricter than Ilvermorny, but the castle is amazing! You should definitely visit" at this, Gemma looked at her mother, hopeful, who laughed at responded with "we will see"

"I haven't managed to see too much of England, but the guys promised to take us around this Christmas, I will send you pictures" I smiled at her as she jumped around happily. It was nice to see her so happy again, last time I saw her, she looked so beaten up over her brother.

"thanks!" she grinned, plopping one of her moms cupcakes into her mouth

"Gemma! Food first!" scolded Emily, smacking her hand gently

"yeah Gemma, food first!" chorused the twins cheekily, but stopped as their mother glared at them, I had to stiffen a laugh.

"where is Hazel?" I asked, looking around

"she's asleep, I thought it would be best if she slept before all the excitement" responded Emily, going back to cooking

"Lore! Come upstairs, I got a new camera, and I wanna show you!" Gemma commanded me, dragging me to the door

"bye Emily!" I shouted, before I was whisked away by Gemma, the twins trailing behind us

"you two go play, I got dibs on Lore for a while" Gemma commanded the two, closing the door behind us

"I didn't realise I was called dibs on" I joked, sitting on her plush white bed, Gemma's room screamed elegance and girly. Light pink curtains, white bed, white carpet, light pink walls, a white dresser.

"hush you" she replied, sitting next to me

"so, how are you doing?"

"I am good, how are you?" I responded, playing with my leather zip

"I mean the whole Luke thing"

"I know, and I meant it too" I told her, raising my eyebrow

"Loreee!" she groaned "I am worried about you, I mean Luke was practically your brother!"

"and he _was_ your brother," I pointed out

"yeah, but you and Luke had that weird connection thing going." she answered

"Luke and you were siblings in all but blood, if anyone has the right to be upset, it's you" she told me

"Gemma, I am fine, seriously" I responded, looking at her

"have you visited him lately?"

"yeah, I went today, before coming too you. What about you?" I asked, as she rested her back against the beds back

"I visit him every weekend" she informed me, biting her lip "I have been coming down every weekend, to make sure mom is okay, so I go and visit him"

"how is your mom?" I asked softly, worried.

"she's... good. I think she's trying to.. not _move_ on, but live with it? Yeah. I mean, she's got three girls, who need her 24/7 I don't think she _can_ let it consume her. Plus, Seth is there for her, he's been great. Through the whole thing, taking the girls to work with him if mom needs some time, and everything" I loved Seth, he was a great husband, and treated Gem and Luke like they were his kids, he loved them like he loved Olivia, Maddie, and Hazel

"good, I am glad, she needs to be happy"

"yeah" she whispered, looking at her hands

"Gem, is everything okay?" I asked her, taking in her worried expression and knitted brows, for a fourteen year old, she looked way too stressed

"yeah" she replied, shaking her head "it's just... I miss him, you know? I keep on waking up, expecting him to walk through the door, laughing at how we all fell for his latest prank, or something. But he wont'! And it sucks.. at first, I was angry, you know? And it made me feel so guilty, here I am, getting angry at my dead brother! He didn't wanna die! But then.. that anger turned to hurt, to sadness, and now, I just miss him" she rambled, taking in a deep breath at the end

"Gemma, I know. Trust me. I went from hating him, to missing him, to hating myself"

"why would you hate yourself?!" she asked, incredulously, her head shooting to look at me

"it's my fault, that's why" I whispered. This was the first time I had openly said that.

"how the f-ck did you get that?!" Gemma exclaimed, confused and slightly miffed

"because it is!" I replied, pacing the room

"I- I was the one with him! I could of saved him! It should have been me! Not him! I was the one in front of the car! _He_ pushed _me_ out of the way! It should have been me!" I exclaimed, running my hands through my hair in frustration. It felt so good to get that in the open, at least now the Bishops could hate me in peace, for killing their son and brother

"don't!" Gemma replied sharply, glaring at me as she stood up. I looked at her, shocked, I had never heard her so.. angry

" _do not_ go and blame yourself for Lucas's death. Lucas died to protect you, and _I know_ that he would have been happy to go that way. Do not let his death make you feel guilty. If he was here, he would be kicking your arse right now. Lucas loved you, you were his best friend, his partner in crime, his sister! I know he would of jumped in too save you everyday. The _only_ person who's to fault here, is the bastard who did it"

"I am sorry" I whispered, ashamed as I saw the anger in her stance, her eyes "I just.. feel so guilty"

"don't" she repeated, this time more softly "it's not your fault, Luke jumped in front of the bus to protect you, you would of done the same. At least he died protecting someone we all cared about"

"thanks" I whispered, staring at the ground, she smiled weakly and hugged me, as I felt a

weight lift off my shoulders. At least Gemma didn't hate me

"We all love you Lore, you have to know that" she replied, hugging me tightly

"I love you all too"

"good, now that thats out the way, may I know why I only get a letter a _week_ from you? But my mother gets two?"

"what?" I asked, confused

"you send me _one_ letter a week, but my mother gets _two?_ Shes like 35! what the hell do you talk to her about?" she exclaimed, resting on her bed, pulling me next to her

"I just ask her how she and the kids are.. I didn't think it mattered" I replied slowly, still confused

"it does! Mom and I always compare our letters from you too see who gets a longer one! I always loose seeing as she gets two!" she complained, pouting

l laughed, amused "I didn't know that"

"well, you should! We miss you! I love getting letters from you!"

"you do?" I asked, oddly touched. I knew they cared about me, but I assumed it was because of Luke

"of course! Mom always waits for your letters, and when she gets them, she refusing to talk to anyone until she replies. Even when you are in another continent, she loves you more" she teased

"well, that's a given" I smirked, avoiding a pillow she sent my way

"you really need to come through for me, Beckett, don't let me look bad!"

"okay, I promise I will send you more letters" I vowed, this seemed enough for her, as she smiled happily

"good! Now, lets go down, I smell food!" she grinned, racing down the stairs. Crazy, but I loved her

"where is Seth?" I asked, as I tucked into my food, Emily had gone all out. There was three types of pies, soup, pasta, pizza, steak and vegetables, lasagne and two cakes. Hazel was on my lap, giggling as I feed her her baby food, and Olivia and Maddie were on either sides of me, I helped them eat, even though they insisted they could do it themselves

"he's at work sweetie, he really wanted to meet you, but there was an important meeting, so he said he should be back before you leave"

"oh great!" I grinning, helping Olivia cut up her vegetables

"he wants to discuss the Tutshills chances for this year" she informed me, rolling her eyes, but there was a fond smile of her face

"oh great. Personally, I think there is a 70 percent chance for them, I mean, did you see them crust the Falcons last week?" the girls raised their eyebrows at me, obviously telling me that I was talking to the wrong people, but thankfully Seth walked in, shouting

"THEIRS MY QUIDDITCH GIRL!" as he raced over to hug me, I hugged him back as I held Hazel in my hand

"hey love" Seth greeted Emily, kissing her cheek an the girl's forehead, he sat down opposite me

"I thought it was an eighty percent chance" he informed me, immediately jumping into Quidditch talk

"Seth, love, don't you want food?" Emily asked

"thanks dear" he discussed, looking at me for an answer, I grinned and replied

"well, its probably 85, but I was trying to be modest, I mean, _we crushed_ the Falcons, and pulverized the All stars!"

"I know! Did you _see_ Gordon's moves in the last match?! He caught the snitch in five minutes!"

"and that's only because he was laughing half the time!"

"I know-"

"Okay!" Emily exclaimed, she didn't even have to raise her voice for us to shut up, that women is scary when she wanted to be

"NO more Quidditch talk until after food!"

"but-" protested Seth, but shut up as he saw his wife's glare, smart move.

"eat fast" he mouthed to me, I smirked, and began to focus on my food

"you sure you don't want to stay for longer?" Emily asked again

"Thanks for the offer Emily, but I promised I would take Skylar out today" I replied, smiling, it was four ten, and I promised to pick Sky up at 4: 30

"how is Skylar?" she asked me, packing away the left overs

"she's good, she sends me owls, but I think she's bored, I mean it's just her brother and her at home with my parents" I responded

"I see her a lot, but she's always with your mother, so I don't want to cause a fuss, I smile at her though, and give her cookies whenever I can" she told me

"thanks, I appreciate it" It stilled touched me how Emily treated Sky and I like family

"no problem dear, I just wish I could do more" she smiled softly

"thanks, seriously, but I need to deal with this" I smiled, following her into the living room

"Girls, Lore is leaving, say goodbye?" Emily smiled at her children who were all watching shows on their TV

"but I wanted to play Quidditch with you!" protested Maddy, pouting

"and who told you that you could play Quidditch, young lady?" asked Emily, looking at her daughter, hands on her hips. I am scared and I wasn't even her kid.

"d-daddy did!" she exclaimed, pointing at her dad who was innocently eating some cookies,

"way to chuck me under the bus Maddie!" Seth sighed, putting his cookie down

"Seth! The girls are way to young to be playing Quidditch! Now, say goodbye to Lorelai"

"bye Lorie! You have to visit soon!" grinned Maddie sweetly, hugging me, I hugged her back and Olivia joined us "bye-bye Lorie!"

I loved this midgets.

"I will squirt" I promised Maddie

"Write me more" Gemma commanded, hugging me "I will" I repeated, hugging her back

"try to visit in the summer, I can take you to the Tutshill finals, I got tickets" Seth smiled, hugging me, I laughed "count me in"

finally, Emily came to say goodbye "have a safe trip home, and do try to come round tomorrow, I miss Anna, give the boys my love, and Skylar, do good in school, don't explode anything, don't prank any teachers-" she would of continued, but Seth placed his hand on her shoulder "Love, she needs to leave" he told her gently

"oh, of course. Take care, hunny, I love you" she finished, hugging me, tearing up slightly

"I love you too, and I will visit, definitely" I promised. I gave one final goodbye before leaving the house and folding my arms in an attempt to stay warm. I love winters, but I was used to the warm house so it was quite an adjustment, stepping out into the winter winds.

I took a deep breath and walked across the street, the familiar Victorian style house that I spent most of my childhood coming into view, cringing

I walked up to the steps and knocked the Beckett Family Crest Door Knocker, waiting. After about three minutes, the giant doors dragged along the floor, emitting a small creaking sound, and a house elf stood in the opening "Mistress Lorelai!" she squealed, her solemn expression morphing into a smile, I smiled back, Ginger was the only tolerable being in the house, beside Skylar

"Hey Ginger, may I come in?" I cringed as my mannerism changed to more uptight. This house...

"yes! Please!" she grinned, opening the door more so I could walk in

"Ginger has missed her Mistress Lorelai so much!" squeaked Ginger, having to run to keep up with me, I slowed my pace, and smiled down at her

"I missed you too Ging"

"What can Ginger do for her mistress?" she asked, blue eyes wide

"do you mind going and calling Skylar? I promised her I would take her out" I politely requested,

"of course! Will Mistress Lorelai be wanting anything? Coffee, water?"

"No, thank you, I actually do not want to stay for too long, I will just wait her, while you go call her?" I didn't even want to leave the hall way, scared that if I lost sight of the door, I would be trapped

"if that's what Mistress Lorelai wants" she bowed, before disappearing with a pop, I could see the disappointment in her eyes, and couldn't help but feel guilty, as I knew she wanted me to stay. During my childhood, Ginger was like my friend, she would bring me food after my mother grounded me and every thing

I waited, tapping my foot on the perfectly polished tile floors, praying to Merlin that I wouldn't bump into anyone while in this house

"Lorelai?" what did I ever do to you, Merlin?

"mother" I replied, nodding my head stiffly as a tall, perfectly poised, women came into view. Even after five children, Amanda Beckett looked in perfect shape, not a red lock of hair was out of place, and the pearls on her neck complimented her blazer and skirt combination flawlessly, she _glided_ as she walked.

"what are you doing here?" she questioned, glaring at me. Oh, family love, gotta feel warm, don't you?

"I came to pick up Skylar. Did she not inform you?"

"Of course she did. She _respects_ me" Oh that's the mother I knew, Queen of subtle jabs

"well, that's what I came here to do"

"I just do not understand" she stated, matter of factly.

Great, conversations..

"what do you not understand, mother?"

"You have not seen any of your family members since you went to England, yet, when you come to America for a visit, you refuse to spend any time with us. Its Christmas, you should be spending it with your family. Not out, gallivanting with your horrid friends"

you see, most parents hid their distate towards their childrens friends, but not my mother.

"do not put this on me, _mother._ You made it _perfectly_ clear I was not welcomed back home for the holidays" I glared, anger rising into my stomach.

"I did no such thing" she replied, nose in the air

"oh, I am sorry, is there another meaning to the words 'I have no need for your presence during these holidays, and would appreciate it if you did all your relatives a favour and stayed in that horrid country'?" I laughed sarcastically

her response, no doubt twisted and full of lies, was cut short as Skylar appeared, I smiled, she really hadn't changed much since I last saw her, her long brown hair bounced behind her, and her green eyes glistened with excitement, I was the only one who had inherited my mothers hair, and fathers eyes, everyone else in the family got my fathers brown hair and mothers green eyes. It was always something I was proud of, as it meant I stuck out from my siblings, the only downside, however, was I looked eerily similar to my mother.

"LAI!" grinned Sky, running to wrap her slim arms around me, I hugged her back, comfort washing through me as I heard my familiar nickname I only allowed her to use, lifting her up to hug her properly, as their was a significant height difference between us

"hey kiddo! How are you?" I asked her, ruffling her hair as I put her down

"I am fabulous, and you?" ugh, pureblood manners. I have to remember to knock them out of her while I am talking to her today

"I am good too, you ready to go?" I replied, holding her hand and gesturing to the front door

"eh hem" coughed my mother, daintily, of course. Ugh, here goes my quick and easy in and out

" _yes mother?_ " I gritted, turning to face her

"we _were_ in the middle of a conversation, the polite thing to do would be finish it, before you leave. And give an appropriate farewell" she spoke, haughtily.

"I am sorry, mother, I didn't identify as a conversation. The way I saw it, you were pointing out everything wrong about me, and I was listening, trying my best not to run away, screaming" I told her sarcastically. So not in the mood.

"Lorelai Katherine Beckett, I know that you think I am this _evil_ heartless soul, but lets _not_ forget who fed, clothed, and took care of you for eleven years, before you rushed off to Ilvermorny" yes, I was the only one of my siblings who opted out of private schooling and went to Ilvermorny. It took a lot of screaming though, my tonsils have never been the same.

"the house elves" I answered honestly. Its true, Ginger was the one who stayed up with me for two nights in a row, as I was throwing up with a fever.

"do not begin with me, young lady"

okay, mother, I really wanna leave, you were the one who kept me.

"whatever, c'me on Sky, lets go" I muttered, the only reason I didn't snap back was because Skylar made me promise I wouldn't be rude when I visited. She hated it when mother and I fought.

"what makes you think I will let you take my daughter with you?" called mother, sounding strangely.. desperate? As if she was hanging on to threads. Yeah, right, mother didn't beg, or act desperate. It would ruin her hair.

" _your_ daughter?!" I exploded "who the f-ck am I? A f-cking monkey?! So what if I want to take my _sister out?_ At least I try to interact with her, unlike your other, stuck up, pricks you call kids" I was shocked, I had never sworn at my mother. Ever. I don't know why, but even though I hated her, I could never bring myself too.

"Lai, please" begged Skylar. Mother ignored her and glared at me

"at least my other children had the manners to respect me enough to keep in touch after they moved out. I have not received so much as a postcard from you"

"neither have I! And thats because your children have _manners!_ Thats all it is! They don't love you, or have any emotional attachment towards you! They keep in contact with you and father because they want the inheritance to roll in once you both kick the bucket!"

looking back, maybe I went to far. But I was _furious,_ this was the women who used to abuse me when I was younger, this was the women who would threaten me with no food when I so much as giggled. And her she was, blaming me for our lack of communication.

"you are no daughter of mine" she whispered, stepping towards me

" _I never was_ " I replied, my voice deathly, and with that, I turned around, grabbed Skylars hand and walked out the house, quick paced.

"Lai! Slow down!" Skylar shouted as I walked down the stone steps, fuming.  
"sorry hun" I replied, slowing down, but not stopping until we had gotten out of that horrid area.

Not my home.

"what just happened?" Skylar asked me, I looked down, her eyes were full of concern and confusion, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears

"oh Sky, I am sorry" I sighed, pulling her into a hug, and comforting her as the tears rolled onto my top

"what does this mean?" she asked me after a few minutes of silence

"I dunno.. but I can't go back there. Amanda made it quite clear" I informed her, laughing bitterly. Amanda Beckett. A ruthless, cold hearted soul, who had more sins than the devil himself

"but.. what about me?" she whispered, looking up at me, I had picked her up, and put her on my lap, as we sat on a bench on the sidewalk, her eyes were level with mine, and glistening with tears

"I will visit" I promised her "but I can't go back there, I am not welcome"

"where will you go?"

"stay with my friends, until I graduate, then hopefully get a job and buy a flat. I still have my bank account, they can cut me out of the families, but I am legally allowed to have my account, no one but me can close it after February, when I become seventeen" this felt so.. weird.. I was finally, finally, free

"will you stay in England?" she whispered, and I knew she expected the answer to hurt

"Yes... but I will visit. A lot. I already got permission from McGonagall to visit America monthly, and I will definitely take you out, we can get ice cream or whatever you want" I smiled at her, hear swelling as she smiled. I loved this girl, and I hoped she never had the same problems I did

"what about that amus-amuse" she sighed, frustrated

"amusement park?"

"yeah! Can we go there? You made it sound so cool when you told me last summer!"

"maybe.. your mother won't like it though" I replied carefully. Just because Amanda Beckett wasn't my mother anymore, doesn't mean Sky should have a sh-t relation with her. I knew Sky, no matter how strong she was, she loved her family, and it would kill her if they got upset with her

"pleaseee" she begged, pouting. I chuckled, poking her stomach

"fine, but if your mother asks, we went to some shitty Avery Party" I made her promise

"yeah, because thats _so_ believable" she snorted, hopping off my lap

"now come on! Your fight cut into our time! We only have 2 hours, not 2 and a half! That means we will have to squeeze the walk in the park, and combine it with the pizza hunt!"

I laughed and followed her as she ran down the street, kicking snow as she did, I knew I was forgiven.

"I should of gotten that last scoop" complained Skylar, licking her cone

"Sky, you got six scoops, its the middle of winter. I think thats enough" I scolded, grinning lightly, that girl was really something

"yeah, but the coffee would of gone so well with the coconut!"

"yeah, cuz I would of let you put coffee on top of that" I snorted sarcastically, taking a sip of my coffee, sensible choices.

"you are mean" she pouted, staring at me

"and you are late, I should've gotten you home about half an hour ago, your mother is going to kill me"

"you are really leaving?" she asked, frowning

"sorry hun, I promise I will visit. Hopefully, I can make a trip in January, and I will write, alot" I promised, bending down as we reached her house. No way was I walking her to the steps

"now, be good, don't blow anything up, okay?" I told her

"I should be saying that to you" she smirked

"you are way too cheeky for a seven year old" I informed her

"love ya Lai" she smiled, hugging me

"I love you too kiddo" I whispered, hugging her tightly, buring my head into her hair, I was really going to miss her

"now, go on, before your mother is out and getting an elf to chase me with a shovel, because Merlin forbid she picks one herself" I smirked, letting her go

"fineee. Bye" she groaned, skipping into the garden, I watched as she climbed up the stone steps that I no longer would have to brave, giving me one last wave, she went inside, and I left.

"there you are!" Anna exclaimed, as I walked into her room

'hey Lore" I grinned, talking off my jacket that was wet with snow and magically drying my hair, perks of staying in a house with magical adults

"you are late! Its almost 9 o clock! You told me you would be back by 8!" she asked, hand s on her hips. Jeez

"Sorry, Sky kept me" I responded, changing into a warm, grey, knit sweater and black pajama pants

"oh, how is she? I miss her!" Anna questioned, her previous anger forgotten as she put my clothes away for me while I combed my red hair

"shes good, as annoying as ever" I replied, distantly. Today had been a long day.

"you okay? You seem a bit distant?" paused Anna, looking at me

"yeah- yeah I am fine. I just.. realised I am missing a lot of Sky's life, you know?" I lied, hoping she believed me

"oh, I am sorry, I didn't realise that upset you" Anna said, glancing at me with sympathy in her eyes.

"Its fine, I will fix it. I am going to visit more, its cool" I assured her, feeling guilty for lying, but relieved. She didn't have to know, not yet.

"well, I know something that will cheer you up.." trailed Anna, grinning mischeivously

"what?" I demanded, pulling my hair into a messy bun and sighing in frustration, Anna could be really annoying

"well, Nana mentioned you, and I told her she couldnt make it, but missed her and her cookies... so she gave you a christmas present" confessed Anna, smiling

"I GOT YOUR NANAS COOKIES?!" I screamed in happiness, Anna's Nanas cookies were the best thing ever. No joke.

"three dozens worth" added Anna

"I HAVE 36 COOKIES FROM YOUR NAN AND YOU NEGLECT TO MENTION THAT TILL NOW?!" I shouted, tackling her

"sorry! You got home like two minutes ago!" defended Anna, pushing me off her

"here, I get some" she said, tossing them too me

'no, go get your own" I replied, keepng them away from her

"there is no way you can eat 36 cookies before they go off, Lorelai"

"have you ever heard of a freshening charm?" I responded cleverly "besides, from previous experience, her cookies are good for three days during the winter, thats a dozen a day, it can be done"

"Lore!" she exclaimed

"no! Go get your own! Shes your Nan! I am sure she will bake you some!"

"Yeah, shes my Nan, but she likes you more! I mean shes _never_ made any one of us cousins more than six cookies at once!" protested Anna, reaching for the cookies again

"well, if you were nicer, maybe she would" I responded, sticking my tongue out, before running as Anna lunged at me.

Yup, she definitely didn't need to know now.

AUTHORS NOTE

8000 WORDS! Thats so much for me! I hope you enjoyed. I know this chapter was mainly Lore's view, but I find shes the easiest character to write, and this chapter was manly written to show her, so yeah.

Anyways, I hope the cemetery scene wasn't too dramatic.. its just, well, I mean, the reaction was pretty justified, seeming as Lorelai lost her best friend. And Luke wasn't just her best friend, he was like a brother to Lorelai. He was the way for her to escape her family. He was all she had if you think about.

So, with that being said. Tell me what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

2 weeks after Winter break.

Anna's POV:

it doesn't feel like we had a break two weeks ago, the amount of work teachers have been piling up for us too do is ridiculous. On the second day back, I had four essays to do, all which were due on the third day.

Two weeks later, the work load still hadn't slowed down, and everyone was getting annoyed, we were in a serious need of a break, sadly, Molly told us that the next Hogsmede meeting was two weeks away, so we all decided to take a break and relax in my dorm, the boys went to the kitchen to grab some snacks, and came back with a feast, so us girls flew them up the dorm stairs, and we were now all lazing in a magically extended room.

Well, everyone else was lazing around, I was trying to tidy up, the mess was getting on my nerves. I was currently folding Lores clothes up, as it was my turn, she was on bed duty this week,

the rest of the group was watching as Lorelai and Finn were in a heated argument over which whether Katherine Vance from third year was a metamorphmagus or not

"don't you think if she was a metamorphmagus she would of fixed the crook on her nose?" argued Lorelai, glaring at Finn. Merlin, you would think after half an hour, they would drop it

"that's such a b-tchy thing to say! Anyways, her hair was a dead give away! No ones hair is naturally that red!" Finn retorted, glaring back

"oh and what am I? A mermaid?" snapped Lore, shoving her red hair into Finns face

"your hair is a normal red though! It's orangy! Her hair was full on beetroot red!"

"Beetroots are purple!"

"oh don't you f-cking start with that, I will cut you Beckett! Beetroot's are totally red!"

"yeah, so is the empty spot in your skull, ya know, the place where your brain should be?"

"oh, really funny Lore"

"I know, I am a f-cking comedian!"

"and a liar! Because Katherine Vance was a metamorphmagus!"

"wanna prove it?"

"sure!"

"then lets owl her!"

oh Merlin, I should probably step in. last thing I want is Lorelai stalking our previous school to find Katherine's address

but as I was going to tell them they were being idiots, I felt a thick folder of papers fall out of an old registers that belongs to Lore, picking it up, I frowned. The writing looked oddly familiar. It reminded me of Mrs. Beckett's, the address confirmed my suspicion s and I looked at Lore, worried

"Lore, can we talk for a sec?" I muttered, she stopped shouting at Finn long enough to look at me, and probably tell me to shut up, but when she saw my face, she changed her thoughts

"whats up Annie?" she asked, sending a final glare to Finn before walking towards me

"what's this?" I questioned, deciding to get straight to the point

her eyes widened "oh, it's nothing" she laughed nervously "just a christmas present from my family.. the idiots"

"then you won't mind me opening it?" I said, not waiting for a reply, and tearing open the package. Lorelai froze for a mili second and then lunged at me

"NO! Anna! You don't need to! It's nothing!" she tried, reaching for it, but it was too late, and the papers fell out the envelope, onto the floor, I gathered them and read through, eyes furrowing at every word. The hell?!

"why didn't you tell me?" I whispered, hurt, but mostly angry

"it's no biggie, An, I promise" Lore muttered nervously

"HOW IS THIS NOT A BIG DEAL?! THOSE ABSOLUTE HEARTLESS B-STARDS!" I exploded, waving the file around I knew Lorelai wouldn't take it personally, and knew I wasn't pissed at her.. her family, on the other hand..

"Annie, what's wrong?" Mark asked, coming behind me, I silently handed them the papers, too angry to speak, and silence filled the room as Mark and Finn read.

"what is wrong with those physco's?!" Finn whispered, angry. Lore flinched, Finn rarely got this angry, usually, he would shout, go on a rant, then be okay. But this... when he got quiet? That's how you knew he was serious. It rarely happened, only when his parents were involved, actually.

"guys, it's nothing! I swear! Please, don't make a biggie out of nothing!" protested Lore, trying to take the folder back

"like hell it isn't!" snapped Mark "these are disownment papers!"

the rest of the room went even more silent, if that was possible, and all of a sudden, the room felt cooler.

"Lore, please tell us what's going on" I begged, it killed me to think Lorelai was going through this, and I wasn't there to help her

"or why you aren't pissed about this" Finn added darkly

"because I have had time to get over it" Lore shrugged honestly

"what does that mean?" Mark inhaled sharply

"Amanda told me about her plans in Christmas break" she admitted. That explained the sudden use of 'Skylar's mother" or "Amanda" instead of 'my mother'

"I went to pick up Sky, and we got into a fight, I can't even remember what we said, honestly, just the same stuff, how I was a disappointment and the worst of all her children, and how I never cared about her and how all her other perfect devil children kept in contact with her. So I exploded and told her the only reason that they kept in contact was for the money, and she was on the verge of chasing them all away," Lorelai paused, took a deep breath and continued to fiddle with her hands as she finished the story "she told me- told me that I wasn't her daughter anymore" at this, she laughed bitterly "And I told her I never was, walked out, and didn't look back"

cue silence.

Literally, if anyone walked in, they would probably check pulses

"I can't believe she did that" I breathed, pulling Lore into a long hug

"I am fine Annie, I swear!" she tried convincing, shaking her head earnestly

"I am sorry Lore, but in what universe is this 'no biggie"?" Mark questioned, waving the papers around

"Guys! This is what we have been talking about for ages! Remember? How after we graduated we were going to leave our devil of parents and get an apartment by ourselves?" reminded Lorelai

"Lore, we wanted to _leave,_ not get _disowned_ " commented Mark gently

"maybe you didn't" she replied darkly

"what does that mean?" I inhaled, Lore had _never_ mentioned getting disowned, not seriously, anyhow.

"I kinda saw this coming" she admitted quietly, twirling the hem of her black knitted sweater around her finger

"what?" I repeated

"I saw this coming" she explained, louder "the constant letters? Angry howlers? How could I not?"

"you knew they were angry, but you never mentioned getting disowned!" I protested, still angry on Lorelai's behalf. If anything, she should be disowning them! Lore hadn't done anything wrong!

"look, guys, I really don't wanna talk about it!" Lorelai informed us desperately, we opened our mouth to protest, but she picked up her bomber jacket and walked towards the door "I need fresh air" she muttered, opening the door

"Lore" pausing, she turned around at the sound of

James's voice "we get that you don't wanna talk about it, and that it is none of our concern, but I just want you to know, that if you _ever_ need a place to stay, or money, or anything,

we are all here for you."

"thanks Potter" Lorelai whispered, eyes softening before she walked out.

One week without drama, is that too much to ask?

Marcus's POV

"disownment! Why the hell did she feel like she had to keep that away from us?" Anna whispered harshly, pacing up and down my dorm floor, after Lorelai left, Finn, Anna and I went to my dorm to talk, leaving the Wotters in the girls dorm

"Annie, don't take it personally, you know Lore, she's great at bottling up her emotions" tried Finn, desperately wanting to calm down the furious blonde witch stomping around our dorm, he glanced, exasperated at me, but I shrugged.

Why try calming her down? It's as useless as getting Lorelai to talk.

To be honest, I didn't know what to think of the pending disownment for my friend. I mean yeah, I was pissed on her behalf, but come to think about it, it didn't sound too crazy. Lorelai hated her parents, and I could honestly see no difference in if she got disowned or not. She already lived with us anyways.

And honestly, Lore seemed more happy. Since the Christmas holidays, she seemed lighter, like the invisible weight that I had no idea was on her shoulder had lifted.

If this really made Lorelai happy, then I don't see the big deal. She had us, and I think for her, that was enough. And I for one knew that no matter what, I would never leave that red headed psycho's side.

"-how are you two so f-cking calm?!" Anna finished, pulling me out of river of thoughts. Shit, I had been blatantly ignoring Anna's rants while she was seriously pissed, and not strategically like Finn had, either

"because Anna, didn't you see Lore? She was.. she was happy" I explained, pulling her onto the bed to stop her from wearing out the wooden floors, or worse, making a hole straight into the common room.

"but- but-" protested Anna, frustrated at her lack of defense

"Anna, come on"

"You are right" she finally sighed, running a hand through her hair anxiously "course you two are right! You know that girl so f-cking well! And of course she's happy! She's Lorelai! And they are the monsters who stopped her from living properly for 11 years!" she ranted again, pulling the ends of her hair

"so, you okay now?" I asked cautiously, gently taking her hands in mine, to prevent her from balding at the mere age of 16

"yeah- yeah, I am" she answered, sighing deeply

"good, because we are going to work this out, everything will be okay" I assured her, nodding at Finn who had sent me a grateful smile, he was

sh-t at calming Anna, or anyone for the matter, down

"yeah, we will Annie" Finn smiled, hugging her

"thanks, guys" she muffled, head caught in between our jackets

"now that that's sorted, I am going to find Lore and bring her in before she freezes herself" Finn informed us, heading to the dorm door

"Anna and I will go grab dinner from the kitchen, I think we all deserve a sleepover" I told him, pulling Anna up after me as we headed to the kitchen

"why are our lives so messed up?" Anna groaned as we tottered down the hall ways, careful to avoid Filches cat, just because it wasn't curfew, doesn't mean Filch wouldn't find another way to take points from us and stick us in detention. The git.

"aww, think about how boring it would be if they weren't!" I grinned optimistically

"don't be an idiot" she laughed, punching my shoulder lightly, I smirked and pulled her, swinging my arm around her shoulders

"wanna try that again?"

"I hate you" she pouted

"nah, you don't really" I replied, ruffling her hair

"Why do you and Finn insist on going for the hair?" she groaned

"it's not our fault your hair is so ruffle-able" I informed her, smirking

"Ruffle-able?" she laughed, looking up at me

"I know what I said" I responded, trying desperately to hid my laughter at her facial expressions .

"are you drunk?" she asked bluntly

"what? Of course not! That hurts Annie, that you think so less of me. I am wounded" I sighed dramatically clutching my heart

"sorry Marky, I hope you still love me" she grinned back cheekily, I frowned, I hated that nickname

Finn's POV:

"guess who" I grinned, covering up Lorelai's eyes with my hands

"Finn, if you want to keep those pretty little fingers, remove them from my face" she responded, voice muffled as my hands covered her mouth slightly

"testy, much?" I smirked, sitting down next to her on the astronomy tower floor

"what are you doing here?" she scowled, staring ahead at the sun set, her hair was flowing loosely behind her, and the orange hues from the sun caused it too look afire.

"Here I thought you loved me" I pouted, pretending to look hurt as she glanced at me

"dunno where you got such a crazy idea from" she shrugged, face stoic.

"aww, you know you love me" I grinned,

"not really" she shrugged again, not taking her eyes off the sun that was now hiding behind the forbidden forest. I smirked, taking advantage of her being distracted, and pulled her into a headlock, ruffling her hair

"admit you love me!"

"FINN! PISS OFF!" she screamed, trying to protect her head

"admit it, and I will" I responded, laughing

"go to hell" she spat, punching my side, It didn't do much.

"aww, what's the magic word?"

"Finn!" she warned, trying to sound threatening, it didn't work seeing as I had her trapped and she was trying hard not to laugh

"yes, love?" I responded, now beginning to tickle her.

"FINE!" she shrieked giving up. No matter how strong Lore was, she _hated_ being tickled "I love you!"

I let her go, grinning triumphantly

"arsehole" she scowled, fixing her hair

"but you love me!" I smirked optimistically

"idiot" was her response

"do you wanna talk about it?" I asked her after a minute of silence, in which I admired the sun and it's colours. And Lore glared. I love that girl.

"talk about what?" she replied, trying to act clueless

"acting clueless doesn't suit you" I told her lazily

"there is nothing to talk about Finn" she sighed, leaning back and resting her head on my chest

"they are disowning me. And despite what everyone thinks, I truly don't care. I am happy, actually. It's like a weight has been lifted off me. No more going back to their sh-t, you know?"

"I get it" I told her, she glanced at me apprehensively

"I really do!" I exclaimed

'I am half way to joining you"

"what?" she asked sharply, looking to face me

"What with the letters getting more, and shit like that. The other day father dearest sent me a letter telling me to get my sh-t together and to stop tarnishing my reputation if I had a shot in running the West Company. I told him I might get an interview for the Tutshill Tornados, he freaked and sent me a howler, which is currently in Lily's cats stomach" I told her

"bloody hell" she breathed "families are f-cked up"

"no need to tell me, love, I found that out on day one" I shrugged

"i think he's going to wait till I graduate, my parents seem to be a bit less heartless than yours, but it doesn't really matter, I am not going back this summer"

"what? Finn, I think Anna will have a heart attack if two of her friends end up homeless in one day" Lorelai informed me

"well, Annie is lucky that _one_ of her friends is smart" I boasted proudly

"what are you on about, West?"

"this Christmas I bought an apartment" I admitted, grinning at myself

"what?" she gaped, surprised

"I went to Diagon Alley and bought myself an apartment, cost a bomb, but it's daddy's money, so I felt no sorrow"

"bloody hell"

"yeah, I also opened up an account for me, used my name, and seeing as I am sixteen, mother and father won't be informed. I took a bunch of gold from the West's vault and shifted it too mine, that way if father cuts me out of the family wealth, I will be okay"

"thats f-cking genius Finn" Lore complimented. It's sad how my friends are shocked when I am smart. Sad, but not surprising.

"yeah, anyways, my question to you was, the apartment is two- well four, but, basically, its got four rooms, which means there is enough room for you to move in"

"where's the question?" grinned Lore cheekily, but still surprised

"shut it Beckett" I growled, poking her lightly

"I would love to move in with you Finn, thank you. But you better let me pay you back" she tried

"oh don't start with that modesty crap. It's my fathers money, so it's not even like I give a sh-t about spending it"

"thanks Finn" she gratefully responded,

"a hug would be appreciated" I smirked. Hey, just because I wasn't taking money, doesn't mean Lore gets off scott free.

LORELAIS POV

after Finn offered for me to move in with him, we spent the rest of the sunset talking, heading back about an hour later, fifteen minutes after curfew, thank Merlin Mrs. Norris was sick, and not prowling the corridors. The devil.

I went to my dorm after Rox told me an owl came, and sat on my bed, opening the letters from various people.

The first was from Sky, I smiled as I recognized her familiar messy, yet sophisticated writing. I could tell her mother was getting her to take those ruddy cursive classes I hated.

 _Dear Lai,_

 _thank you so much for the food! Mom's been on a toxic cleanse, or something like that. Basically, its nothing but juice and vegetables for a week, I tried to get Alex to take me out for ice cream, but the jerk started lecturing me on the importance of listening to our parents. Did I mention I hate that you are not around?_

 _Anyways, the Bertie beans you sent finished today. I know what you are thinking, 'I sent you four family size packs, Sky' as you shake your head condescendingly, probably thinking about how crazy I am. But seriously, you try drinking apple juice and eating broccoli for lunch and see what happens. Answer: forty minutes on the toilet._

 _Anyways, to answer your question, everyone here is great, (I know you didn't ask about the family, but I am going to pretend you were a decent human being and did, joking, love you)_

 _I went to see Mrs. Bishop today, while mom and dad were out. Alex was supposed to be watching me, but I managed to convince Ginger to let me out. Mrs. Bishop is so nice! She gave me cookies and milk and let me play with Olivia and Maddy, Gemma even offered to braid my hair! They told me I could come round whenever, so I think I will go next week, while mother is at the spa._

 _I miss you Lore, it's so boring here. And I am still holding onto your promise to visit me towards the end of Feb. I know where you live Lore, remember that._

 _Your favourite sister, (you can't deny it, cuz then you will be admitting to actually tolerating El)_

 _Skylar_

I laughed, the letter was so Skylar, snarky, and all over the place. I took out a rough piece of parchment, charmed it to remove the bunny I had drawn in DADA, and wrote a reply

 _Dear Sky,_

 _you are welcome. It sounds shitty, but don't think you have the right to complain to me. You weren't alive during the 'Egg diet'. That's right, three weeks of just eggs, boiled, fried, scrambled, you name it. But three weeks of eggs, breakfast, lunch, and dinner._

 _It was hell. Thank Merlin for Mrs Bishop. She seems to be the saving grace to our horrific diet filled childhood._

 _And, way too much information. I know you don't have anyone to complain to, but I do not have to know about your washroom habits._

 _I won't comment on the fact you ate four bertie bean packs in one day. Actually I will, by saying this "good luck finding a heart donor"_

 _that's great, Mrs Bishop loves you, she told me, says you are a right ball of energy (Merlin knows why she likes that)_

 _your favourite sister (you know it's true)_

 _Lorelai_

 _PS, yes I did read your response to my 'question', I just am choosing to not reply._

With a flourish of the pen, I folded the letter, suck it in an envelope, attached it to Sky's owl, and watched it fly into the night.

I turned to the other letters, deciding to open Gemma's letter next. I smiled slightly as I saw her familiar pink writing, she always used to get into trouble for writing school essays in pink writing, but refused to use blue.

 _Dear Lorelai,_

 _I LOVE YOU! THE SHOES WERE SO, SO, SO AMAZING! I mean, they are from England, so what do you expect? BUT OH MY GOSH! You really shouldn't have. I love them so much, I have worn them every second since they came, in fact, I am wearing them right now while I am in bed. I hope they don't get spoil. I got Francis to put a spell on they to make sure they don't._

 _School is good, bloody work is horrible though. I mean, I am in third year, and it's like my OWLs are tomorrow!_

 _GUESS WHAT?! I got selected to write for the ILVERMORNY NEWS! I am so, so happy! No one else in my year got selected, it's usually seventh and sixth years. I never thought I would get in, I just sent in a piece to see, ya know? BUT THEY PICKED ME!_

 _I feel so excited, this is one more step closer to me becoming a journalist!_

 _How's Hogwarts? The weather must be fabulous! I really want to visit, but mom is still skeptical, butter her up for me, will you?_

 _Oh shit, I am late for Potions. Reply soon._

 _Love,_

 _Gemma xoxo_

I grinned, fishing out a fresh parchment piece to reply, this letter was so Gemma it was ironic. Out of the place, and full of happiness.

 _Dear Gemma,_

 _you are welcome, Gem, glad you liked them. I saw them while I was shopping with An in the winter, and thought they suited you. As for the whole shoes in bed fiasco, I can't complain, I used to fall asleep in my boots in the winters, it was just to damn cold otherwise._

 _All I will say is, enjoy third year while it lasts. Yeah, there may be a lot of work, but it's NOTHING compared to fourth year. Or fifth, for that matter._

 _CONGRATULATIONS! I knew you would get the position! That paper needs some good writers, you know, ones who don't go on and on about their exes and favourite nail color choice._

 _Hogwarts is good, the weather is actually surprisingly pleasant. The boys are happy, as it's not too cold and windy for Quidditch. Which reminds me, I promised them I would watch their practice, what they neglected to tell me was it was scheduled for four in the bloody morning. Idiot Potter._

 _I will try 'buttering up' your mom, but you know how stubborn she is, I doubt it will work._

 _Being late for Potions is not a wise decision, Professor Vance is a bloody nightmare._

 _Love you too,_

 _Lorelai._

After signing my name, I put the letter away, and fed Gemma's bird, Aphrodite, as she looked pretty tired. I decided to let her rest and send the letter back tonight, and opened the one sent from Emily.

 _Dear Lorelai,_

 _how are you, dear? I am sorry for the late reply, but Olivia has come down with a nasty flu, and requires 24/7 attention. So that obviously means Maddy does too. And Seth is on a business trip._

 _Anyways, I doubt you want to hear my troubles, so I won't bore you._

 _I miss you, so do the girls, they send their love. Gemma came down last weekend, and spent some time with the girls, so that made them happy. We took them to Thunderhill Mountains, and they had a wonderful time there, but got angry when I wouldn't let them on the Whip Bus ride. I am not sending my girls plummeting down a machine with nothing but belts for protection._

 _Sky came round the other day, I gave her cookies, which she ate happily. She told me something about a juice diet, it reminded me of the egg one you had to suffer through. Poor dear._

 _Oh, Olivia is crying, I should go_

 _Take care, I love you._

 _Emily._

I checked the time to make sure I wasn't late for dinner before jotting down a response.

 _Dear Emily,_

 _I am good, thank you for asking. That's not a problem, I get it. Oh, give Olivia and Maddy my love, I hope she gets better soon._

 _Aww, I am always hear to listen to your troubles! I would help, but I am not sure how._

 _I miss you all too. Its so weird to not hear the girls talking incessantly._

 _Yeah, Skylar sent me a letter, she was extremely grateful, thanks. I sent her some Bertie Beans and other bits and bobs to get her through._

 _Anyways, how is everything in your end? I am thinking of visiting around February 23? I wanted to come earlier, but the guys are insisting I spend the 21 with them, so I can celebrate my birthday with them. And I need one day to sob- I mean rest!_

 _Just joking, you know what I meant,_

 _anyways, I have to go and eat,_

 _I love you all,_

 _Lorelai._

I sealed the last letter, sent it flying away with the Bishop Owl, Pidgey (Luke was a weird kid) and 

went down to dinner.

"


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Anna's POV:

"42 MINUTES AND TWENTY SEVEN SECONDS TILL MY BIRTHDAY!" Lorelai sang, hopping around the common room

"ZIP IT BECKETT" shouted a seventh year who was trying to get some last minute revision done

"No thanks, Redrock!" she shouted in response, bounding towards the area were Finn, Mark, and I sat

"why are you lot in the common room?" she pouted

"because we are allowed to?" Finn replied, purposely acting dutiful to annoy Lorelai

"but my birthday is in-" she checked her watch "41 minutes and 19 seconds! Why aren't you all planning and decorating?"

"its your birthday tomorrow?" Mark gasped, pretending to be surprised

'"GUYS! This isn't funny! I am turning seventeen! You are supposed to be planning!"

"and whys that?" I asked her, biting my lip to hid a grin at her look of outrage

"because you are my friends!" she exclaimed

"so?"

"so- so!" not having a response, she pouted "i hate you all" and ran upstairs to find the rest of the Wotters.

I grinned as our plan went into action, and quickly jumped into position, as the three of us began transforming the common room into a giant party room for Lorelai. I just hope that Fred and James do a good job of distracting Lorelai

about 35 minutes later, the common room no longer looked like the room we had lived in for almost a year now. The walls were now a nice shade of black, and the floor white, Lorelai always told us how she wanted a black and white themed party. Even the food was black and white! I love the house elves.

Pictures of Lorelai through the ages scattered the room, all black and white, and black and white balloons as well. The ceiling was charmed to throw down white and black confetti, which disappeared before it hit the ground. Birthday decorations littered the room, and the cake and cupcakes had pictures of Lorelai on them. It was perfect. I called all the Wotters, except for James and Fred, who were watching Lore and watched as they bounded down the stairs, awestruck by the decorations

"wow guys! This is amazing" Lily complimented, wearing a white blouse with black jeans

"thanks, I hope the boys haven't given anything anyway" I worried

"I can't believe you let _James and Fred_ watch her. Those boys can't keep a secret to save their lives" Dominique said

"I know, I am regretting my lack of judgment" I fretted

"don't worry, Annie, I don't think they will, I mean, you are pretty scaring when you wanna be" smirked Finn

"piss off West" I glared, before looking at my white watch

"shit! Its almost 12, hid!" I swore, running behind the table that held all of Lorelai's presents, as we had been talking, the other fifth, sixth and seventh years had come down the stairs and also stacked their presents. They hid behind various objects, pots, couches, the works.

"Potter, for the last time, my sisters nose does _not_ resemble a flobberworm, you insolent, pathetic, arrogant-"

"SURPRISE!" screamed the gryffindors, jumping out and turning on the lights, effectively cutting off Lore's rant.

NORMAL POV

After various members of the house had wished Lorelai happy birthday, the group of four gathered round with the Wotters

"seriously James? I asked you to distract her, not insult her sisters nose" Anna groaned, light heartedly, she had relaxed after realising that the party was a huge hit. Everyone had dressed according to the theme, bought presents and loved the food.

"Well she was about to go downstairs! The only way I know to keep her distracted is too piss her off" James protested

"and that, cuz, is why you are single" Dominique shrugged, patting James back

"you're single because you are a downright b-tch" answered James

"and proud of it" shrugged Dominique in response, sipping her champagne

after about an hour of mingling and small talk, it was time for the presents. Lorelai was having the time of her life, taking pictures with who ever asked, she towered over most, what with her 6 foot frame, and black heels which only added to her height (Annas command). She was wearing a flattering, white full sleeve blouse, with a pair of black leather pants. Her hair was flowing loosing down her back in waves, and she was wearing mascara as per Anna's request (command)

"GATHER ROUND GUYS! LORES GOING TO OPEN HER PRESENTS!" the boys screamed, as Anna's throat had gone hoarse from trying to stop a group of fifth years from jumping out the window

LORELAIS POV:.

"mine first!" Anna grinned cheerfully, handing me a black with white polka dot box. I took it with a hug, and opened the white bow, pulling the lid off as she did so

inside was a beautiful, silver, oval locket with "L.A' engraved on it in silver sparkles, it was an ongoing joke between the four, ever since Finn pointed it out during their midnight trip to Los Angles in fourth year. I opened the locket and gasped in surprise, magically done, of course, there was a series of pictures of the group, the pictures kept on changing, going from first year all the way to today.

"do you like it?" Anna asked nervously, twiddling her hands

"Like it?! I LOVE IT!" I grinned, tackling Anna as she put the locket on

"Thanks Annie" I whispered, before letting go

"OOHHHH ME NEXT!" Finn grinned, drunk as he handed her a sloppily wrapped present.

tearing open the wrapping, I laughed, inside was a book, and the title was "HOW TO LIVE WITH FINDLEY AUSTIN WEST, a story by: FINDLEY AUSTIN WEST"

immediately, Mark and I burst into laughter "Findley" they giggled

"hey! I wrote that myself!" Finn protested

"thanks, I love it" I grinned earnestly

"open it!"

puzzled, I opened it and grinned, inside, was four tickets to Nights to Remember, and a rope

"whats this for?" I frowned, holding up the rope

"what have you always wanted to do since you were a kid?" FINn asked

"be a ninja" I replied, grinning

"okay, whats the second most wanted thing on your list?" answered Finn, rolling his eyes

"I-" pausing, I screamed "YOU ARE TAKING ME BUNJY JUMPING?!"

"yup" Finn smirked, but not for long, as I tackled him we tumbled over

"I LOVE YOU SO DAMN MUCH WEST!"

"I know" Finn grinned, hugging me back

next, it was Mark's turn. His package was, as expected, perfectly wrapped, and Lore felt slightly guilty for tearing it, but she always insisted that tearing open wrapping paper was the only way to open a present.

"Mark- you didnt" breathed Lore, glancing down at the present in her hand

"If you don't like it- I can give you something else-" hurried Marcus, taking her silence as a bad sign

"NO! You are never taking this from me! Ever!" she exclaimed, glancing back down at the present, inside was a ticket for a private meet and greet with Tutshill Tornado's Seeker, Thomas Jackson.

AKA, Lorelais idol. Aswell as a signed copy of his book he wrote 'Quidditch tips to go pro' and, the best one, in Lorelai's opinion, was a badge with the words "Auror Lorelai Beckett" engraved on it.

Lorelai had always wanted to be an Auror when she grew up, but her family was not supportive, to say the least. So this one small act of kindness made Lorelai immensely happy

"I love you guys!" Lorelai exclaimed, hugging her siblings, in all but blood

"Hey! You haven't opened ours yet! We want love too!" Fred joked, Lorelai laughed and opened the other presents.

Fred had got her a flask that magically filled with the beverages of her choice (coffee and whiskey). James got her book on stars (so now you know which stars you are looking at) and a beautiful necklace that Lily had helped pick out. Lily and Rose got her a new school bag, as hers broke and she refused to get a new one as that required, Merlin forbid, going shopping. She received bits ond pieces from other members of the house and some from other houses, some people from Ilvermorny and the Wotter family. Thanking everyone, the crowd dispersed the go back to dancing, leaving the four Americans with only the Bishops gifts left, yet she couldn't bring herself to open them.

"I am going for a walk" she muttered, guilty for leaving her friends hanging, but needing some fresh air

she took the presents with her, and only stopped walking once she reached the Astronomy tower.

Sitting cross legged, she decided the open Gemmas first.

There was a book, titled ''What makes America great ' with a note (so you will visit more) and a lovely leather jacket that Lorelai pulled on as it was quite chilly

Seth had given her sweets and money, telling her not waste it on alcohol just because she was seventeen (not that you haven't drank before, love) Olivia, Maddy and even Hazel had made her cards and sent her some sweets, that no undoubtedly Emily had helped wrap. Finally, she opened Emily's gift, and first read the card

 _Dear Lorelai,_

 _Happy Birthday, dear! I am so sorry I am not with you, celebrating, but hopefully, when you come to America in two days, we can have a proper celebration._

 _I was going to originally wait to give you your gift then, but I figured it would be more exciting for you too open it on the actual day._

 _Skylar told me about you getting disowned, and I am only refraining from mentioning it as its your birthday, but trust me, when you come here, we are discussing that in detail, missy._

 _Anyways, with that being said, I realized that your parents wouldn't have gotten you a watch, and its tradition, after all._

 _Now, I know I can never actually take your parents spot, but I love you just as much as I would if you were my child, and I couldn't bear the thought of you not getting a watch for your seventeenth._

 _I hope you like it, it was originally my mothers, and her mothers before that, I would have saved it more Gemma, but you know that girl, if its not pink, she won't like it. And I knew you would love it, and I couldn't think of any one who I would rather have wear it._

 _Happy birthday again, dear._

 _Love,_

 _Emily_

I gasped, pulling the watch out of its box, it was silver in colour,, and the strap was delicate silver hoops, connected together, it was beautiful, and the face of the watch had tiny silver diamonds going around it. Elegant, but beautiful.

I felt so happy, yet a pang of upset shot through me before I could stop myself. I knew that I would never earn my parents love, without agreeing with their vile beliefs, but it still hit me hard that here I was, on my seventh birthday, receiving a watch from my best friends mom, instead of my own.

I remember Elizabeth's seventeenth birthday, Amanda had given her a watch that cost over 5000 galleons and tearfully told her that she meant the world to her. On Blazes, father gave him a watch and the family vault's key, proudly boasting that he would know be able to run the family company. On Alex's birthday, same thing, a watch and a proud smile from the parents.

Me? I get nothing.

I usually didn't care, because I knew why I never received their love and knew I was in the right, but it was moments like these that I wished I could at least have their approval, a smile, at least.

I carefully clasped on the watch and admired it and how it glistened in the moon light tower.

FINN'S POV

"wheres Lore?" I asked suddenly, it was three in the morning, and the common room was now mostly empty of people, and food, for that matter. But you could still tell a party had taken place as confetti and popped balloons littered the floor, surrounded by crisp wrappers and food crumbles. It was only the Wotters, Mark, Ann and I left

"she went for a walk about an hour ago" Anna replied, looking at her watch, worry etched on her face

"shall we go find her?" suggested Mark

"yeah, lets go" I muttered, walking with the two to the common room

"oh, wait!" Anna paused, turning around "we can't leave the common room a mess!"

"don't worry, we have it covered" Rox smiled, tying her hair up and helping the girls tidy the floor while the boys began to tear down the balloons

"you sure?" Anna checked, guilty for making them clear the mess

"course, you go spend time with your friend" they grinned, and ushered the three out the common room

"There you are!" Anna exclaimed, stepping onto the Astronomy towers floor,

"oh hey guys" greeted Lorelai turning around, so her back was now facing the moon

"what are you doing up here? Its freezing?" Anna shivered, wrapping the black coat she had conjured up downstairs around her white dress

"sorry, got distracted, the stars are really pretty today" shrugged Lorelai, gesturing to the night sky

"they are" agreed Mark, sitting next to Lore, Anna and I joined them, and we all lay next to and on top of each other. Lorelai lay with her head on my chest, and her feet next to Annas, while Anna rested her head on Marcus's chest, Mark supported himself against the astronomy pillar, as I conjured up some pillows to lean against

"remember what Luke said? That the stars were the dead, trying to talk to us?" Anna suddenly spoke, as they all watched the stars twinkle

"yeah, he used to go into our tree house every year on his Nan's birthday to talk to her" Lore reminisced

"do you think hes trying to talk to us?" asked Anna

"maybe" I shrugged, looking around the sky and pointing at a prominent, shiny stars

"thats probably him"

"what do you wanna say?" Mark asked us, following my finger to star at 'Luke'

"hey Luke" spoke Lorelai "you are a real jackass, you know that? Dying before you gave me a seventeenth party? We all know that you went to stop you from completing the dare we gave you in third year, remember? That when I turned seventeen, you would kiss Ms Figg on the face?" we all laughed, clearly remembering the dare, we had been extremely drunk and partying in California

"I- we miss you, Bishop" Mark continued "you were going to support us when Finn and I made the Tutshill, remember? You promised to paint your whole body blue, and even dye your hair, and scream ''I AM GAY FOR FINN AND MARK' if we won, arsehole, I was really looking forward to that. I even invested in buying a top quality camera to film it"

"we were going to finally pay Finn, Mark and Lore back for sticking us to our seat during that _horrible_ double date we were roped into in fourth year, supposed to get 'em back when we turned seventeen" Anna added

"and you and I were going to eat that 27, 000 pound pizza when we graduated" I remembered, chuckling at the memory. We were, yet again, drunk, when we came up with that. Can you see a pattern? I certainly can.

"remember when we went to Vegas and got chased by the police because Ann thought the churro's were free samples?" Lore chuckled

"and that time when Finn got escorted out of the Falcons match for almost setting the chasers hair on fire?" Marcus asked

"or the time Lore got three months detention for using those creepy creatures the Care of Magical creature teacher got in as frisbees?" Anna laughed

"what about the day when Mark drank a cup of tea with four teaspoons of salt in it, thinking it was sugar. But he was such a fat ass he drank it all before realising" I reminded, smirking at Mark.

The four of us bursted into laughter, recalling different moments of our stupidity

"we have had some good times, haven't we?" Anna smiled, as the laughter subsided

"more like some weird times" I chuckled

"memorable, is the word I think we are all looking for" Marcus inputted

"or flat out suicidal" Lorelai suggested, causing more laughter

we spent the rest of the night recalling different memories and having a great time, finally dozing off at about five, curled up next to each other

Mark's POV:

I woke up and had to shield my eyes from the sun, even though they weren't open, thats weird, I thought. The dorm's were never that bright... nor was my bed was hard.

And then memories came flashing back, and I suddenly remembered that we had dozed off in the astronomy tower, I groaned and lifted my arm to check the time, careful to not drop Anna's head, which had ended up on my arm. It was 9:07, we had about an hour and a half till lessons

"guys, get up, we have to get ready" I said, shaking the girls awake and nudging Finn with my toe

"hmm.. hangover.. no McGonagall" Finn groaned, rolling onto his other side

"I am sure McGonagall will love that excuse" I replied sarcastically, poking him

"West, up, now, I got hangover cure in my dorm, lets go" I told him

"hmm.. no!"

groaning, I gave up on him and tried Lore, she never got hung over

"Lore, get up" I whispered, shaking her and pushing her red hair out her face

"wha'timeisi'?" she muttered, lifting her head

"nine"

"shit" she sighed, and got up, reaching into her pocket and extracting four vials

"you are an angel!" I grinned, recognizing the clear liquid anywhere

"I know" she replied, uncorking her vial

"cheers" she grimaced, downing her potion in one gulp, I followed suit

"you get up Finn, I will get up An?" I suggested, taking the easy one, a tug of the hair would do for An

"jack arse" she joked, moving to wake up Fin

"oi, West, move your fat arse" she shouted into his ear. Thats one way.

after we woke up, and got sober, the four of us headed to our dorms to change before heading down for a quick breakfast.

We met at the bottom of the stairs, where Lorelai was admiring the balloons on her rucksack

'you gave em to her?" I asked Anna, amused

"I can't believe you only got me seven!" pouted Lorelai

"like you could carry seventeen balloons around all day" snorted Anna

"I would of appreciated the gesture" she muttered, walking towards the common room door

"you are going tomorrow, arent you?" Anna asked Lorelai, spreading jam on her toast

"yup, McGonagall told me to floo from her office to Diagon Alley at 3, then I will get a cab to the airport, my planes at 6" Lorelai told her, sipping her coffee and grinning in content, even though none of us were hung over, we were bloody tired, and it was a thursday, so that meant lessons

"four whole days without you, how will we survive?" Mark gasped, teasingly

"quite well, if I do say so myself" I smirked, dodging away from Lorelai's hand

"you love me, West" she glared

"I will let you think that, seeing as its your birthday and all" I grinned cheekily

"shit, we are late, lets go to lessons" Mark swore

and with that, the four trekked out the hall and towards double Potions.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

ANNAS POV

"Ann!" Lorelai shouted from the dorm, I spat the water out my mouth, dried my face and walked into the dorm

"yeah?!" I hollered back

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY GREY SWEATER?" she bellowed, not realizing I had entered the dorm and was standing right above her as she tossed through the cupboard. The dorm was a mess, clothes and books everywhere, Sel, Rox and Dom had left ages ago (smart) but I was helping Lore pack

"Lorelai" I groaned "you have to be at McGonagalls office in twenty five minutes, why didn't you pack yesterday?"

"I did" she replied indignantly, tossing a white t shirt into her trunk "i just.. needed more stuff" she finished lamely

"you have got enough. And even if you don't, Gem's gonna wanna take you shopping as soon as touch down, so don't worry. Lets go down so you can say goodbye" I commanded, locking her trunk before she could protest. The nut was going to miss her flight if she wasn't careful/

grumbling unintelligently, Lore put a charm on her trunk to make it levitate and walked down the stairs, me close behind

"THERE'S MY FAVOURITE RED HEAD" Finn shouted dramatically, running to pick up Lore, who swore at him and tried to get down, he ignored her and continued to swing Lore around

"I am going to miss you! Oh how will I survive four days without my precious red head? My heart shall ache with the absence of thy!" he continued dramatically, clenching his heart with his free hand for dramatic effect

"Finn, put me down or so help me Merlin your 'clenching heart' will be the _least_ of your worries!" Lorelai commanded, and Finn dropped her

"idiot" she scowled, brushing her black skinny jeans. She was wearing a typical airport outfit, black jeans, a simple grey t shirt, and a black leather jacket on top. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and her feet donned black ankle boots, her suitcase lay at her feet, and a black Adidas rucksack was swung on her shoulder

"we should get you too McGonagalls office" Mark told her, glancing at his watch, fifteen minutes to go.

We all nodded and walked towards the exit, Mark had picked up Lore's suitcase and was pulling it with him effortlessly

when we reached the office, I turned to Lore

"you take care of yourself, okay?" I commanded, I know it was for four days, but still, after spending every day with the girl, it was hard to let her go, especially seeing as America brought so many bittersweet memories to thought

"I will, I will miss you" she smiled, I grimaced and hugged her.

After we let go, Lore said her goodbyes to the Wotters, Mark and Finn, who insisted on being extremely dramatic towards the whole matter, but its not like we expected anything less from the boy.

"we should head back" I suggested as we exited McGonagalls office, after watching Lore floo away

"yeah, lets go get some lunch, I am starved" Finn replied, heading in the direction on the hall.

Everything was working itself out, thank Merlin

FINN'S POV

"you know what we haven't done in _forever_ " I began, Mark, Ann and I were lounging around in the common room by the fire, Ann was doing her homework, Mark was revising for mondays quiz and I was... I was counting the number of loose thread on the rug as I dangled upside down off the couch

"hmmm?" murmured Anna, not paying attention

"snuck out to a bar!" I exclaimed

"No" stated Ann simply, not caring for my reason

"comeee on!" I pleaded, sitting straight as my head began to grow dizzy

"Finn, we are not sneaking out! Are you forgetting that we might get expelled?! Again?!"

"Annie, its been months, I doubt they are watching us too carefully!" I reasoned

"no, Mark, tell him!" Anna exclaimed, staring at Mark for support

"well.." began Mark, shutting up when Anna gave him a harsh glare

"come on An's, Finn is right, I mean, what harm is one night?" tried Mark

"but what about Lore?"

"Lore's in America having fun, she won't mind" yes! She was breaking, I could tell

"fine, but only if I finish this essay, and if we get caught, I will kill you" agreed Anna, heavy hearted, but I knew deep down she was excited. She wouldn't be An if she wasn't

LORE'S POV

"we will be landing in five minutes, please fasten your seat belts" called out the speaker, yawning I quickly fastened my belt and packed up my notebook where I was doodling and writing stuff down

'you visiting family, dearie?" asked the old women next to me, I had been speaking to her for a while when we first took off, and she was pretty sweet'

"um, kinda, I have some close friends in America, they are practically family, plus, my sister" I shrugged, not wanting to give my whole life story in five minutes while the plane was bouncing up and down

"thats nice" she smiled, further conversation was cut as the plane had landed and we were all told to wait until we exited.

I grinned brightly as I got off the plane and was greeted by Americas fresh air, I hated how stuffy the air was on air planes.

I got my luggage from the airport and went to the waiting room, where Seth and Gem were going to pick me up.

I spotted their heads near the water cooler and gasped in shock, there was a third person with them "Sky?" I questioned, trailing my suitcase towards them

"Lai!" she squealed, running up to me and wrapping her arms around my waist, I picked her up and she shifted her hands to my neck, burying her head in my shoulder

"what are you doing here?" I asked her, letting her down and hugging Seth and Gemma

"Seth invited me! Dads at a business meeting and mom's in France visiting Aunt Lauren"

"you were at home alone?" I questioned, concerned

"nah, Ging was there, and Alex was supposed to be there, for the weekend, but I think he went to visit some friends or something"

"well, I am glad you are here" I settled

"you ready Lore?, we should get going, Emily has a lovely pie in the oven" Seth spoke, glancing at his watch

"sure, lets roll" I grinned, going to grab my suitcase, but Seth had already got it, I thanked him and fell into pace with Gemma, who was telling me about her Potion lesson.

I was so happy to see them

"=and then she gave me detention! I didn't do sh-t! I hate Professor Vance, shes so f-cking biased!" complained Gemma as we in the car, driving home, I was in the front and Gem sat in the back with Sky

"Gem, language" Seth scolded lightly, he was chill, and only said it so Emily wouldn't kill him

"sorry dad" grimaced Gemma.

Even though Luke never felt comfortable calling Seth 'dad', Gem had no problem. I guess, for her, Seth was her dad, as she had no memory of her actual father (the arse hole). Luke on the other hand, _did_ remember his father, and although he considered Seth to be his parent, he felt more comfortable calling him Seth, and Seth was 100% supportive

"so, hows school going Lore?" Seth asked me, stopping at a red light

"its good, professors are piling up homework, but other than that, its great. Finn and Mark have a match coming up in two weeks, so James is training them up for that"

"how are those two? I miss them" Seth commented. He loved Finn and Mark like they were his own sons, and would always take them, Luke and I too quidditch matches, Ann and Gem would opt to stay with Emily and gossip

"they are great, might have an interview with Tutshill!" I boasted, proud of them

"oh yeah, Finn told me in one of his letters" Seth replied, further proof that they loved Seth, I mean Finn _never_ wrote to anyone. Lazy arse

"why aren't you on the team?" Skylar asked me "you loved Quidditch in Ilvermorny"

"I dunno, Quidditch in Hogwarts is way different, they aren't as many matches, and its just less exciting, plus there were less open spots.. so I left it. We usually have matches between us whenever we can"

"can we have a match today?" Skylar begged

"Sky, its almost seven, shouldn't you be getting home?" I was the cool sibling.. most of the time, when it came to Sky's safety though, I was very protective

"Lai" she whined

"sorry kiddo, but I am beat, tomorrow?" I suggested, guilty for blowing her off, but I was bloody tired

"finnee" she pouted

"buck up cowboy" I joked reaching back to pinch her cheeks.

"do I have to go back?" whined Skylar as we cleared up our dishes, Seth was right, Emily's pie was marvelous

"Sky, its 9 o clock, the last thing I want is Amanda finding out I kept you out this late, she won't only have my head, but yours. I promise to pick you up early tomorrow, and we can spend the whole day together" I reasoned. Personally, I couldn't care less about whether Amanda hated me or not, but the last thing I wanted was Sky to suffer

"5 o clock?" she asked hopefully, looking at me with her bright, big eyes

I chuckled "sorry kiddo, what about 8?" I suggested

"fineee" she moaned, pouting

"don't pout, its nor becoming" I mocked, before turning to Emily

"I am just going to drop Sky off, and go for a walk, I should be back by 11"

"okay, remember to take a coat, its pretty cold out" she replied, smiling. I nodded, threw a grey coat over my clothes (I never got changed from my airport outfit) and headed out, Sky clutching my right hand

"you are leaving on tuesday?" she asked me

"yup, McGonagall agreed as long as it didn't affect my work"

"you have to spend one whole day with me" she commanded. I agreed straight away. I still felt guilty for leaving her to handle all this on her own

"Sky" I began, it was now or never "did you ever... hate me? For leaving?"

she paused, and looked at me, biting her lip, face scrunched in thought "yes" she finally answered slowly, I felt a stab to the heart, but remained impassive ".. I was. At first, I felt _so_ angry, thinking how you could just _leave_ but then, when I thought about it, I wasn't angry, I just... was upset, that you could leave, and I couldnt" she finished

'I am sorry, Sky, I really am. I never wanted to leave you, you were the only reason I stayed so long. But I want you to know, no, I _need_ you to know, I will _always_ be there for you. _Always._ Just because I left America, doesn't for one second mean I left you. I will always be there for you, if you ever need anything, I am an owl away" I promised her

"I know, trust me. And I want _you_ to know that I don't hate you. You are my sister, and I love you. I dont hate, or blame you. You left for a reason. I don't face half the problems you did, so I can't understand." she told me, with far too much wisdom for someone so young

"I love you, kiddo" I grinned, she smiled back, wrapping her arms around my waist, as I bent down to her level to hug her back

"bye then" I told Sky as we walked towards her house

"wait!" she stopped me, I halted and looked at her expectantly

"whats up kiddo?"

"I have your birthday present inside, lemme get it!" before I could protest, she was running inside, leaving me in the cold.

After about five minutes of impatient foot tapping, she came back

"here!" she thrusted a silver package in my hand

"I was going to send it to you, but I thought I should keep it as leverage to make sure you visited" she explained as I peeled open the paper

"I hope you like" she added nervously, twiddling her fingers.

I didn't reply, awestruck, it was a key chain, a simple rectangle piece of wood, and there was a picture of the us and Luke ontop of it, covering it. The picture was taken when I visited her last year, on an Ilvermorny weekend. Luke and I stood infront of our tree house,

holding Skylar in between us, she lay horizontal, Luke supporting her feet, and me holding her head, as the three of us laughed.

I remember that day, Luke and I had showed her the tree house, as she was complaining about never being able to hid from anything.

On top of the picture, in the corner, Slai, was engraved. I laughed "Slai" was our name we came up with ages ago, after hearing a couple of muggles saying the word Slay, to express how cool something was

"its beautiful" I breathed, she grinned in relief and I pulled her into a tight hug

"I love it" I whispered honestly as she clung to me

"you didn't see the key" she observed, I set her down lightly and examined the key at the end, it looked familiar

"its for the house" she paused and continued " _i know,_ you said you were never coming back. And I am sorry if I overstepped, but the key isn't me trying to get you to come back... its more of a reminder, that I am still here"

I froze, and twirled the key around, before looking at her 'I love it' I repeated

"you sure?"

"I do. And I want you to know that I will always be there for you, key or no key, I love you kiddo"

"Love ya too Lai"

after I dropped Sky off, I headed down towards the cemetery, the path all too familiar. The gates to the yard where only open slightly, but enough for me to slither through. I followed the stone path to the patch in the corner, walking off the trail to get to Luke's tombstone

"hey Luke" I smiled as I got to his tombstone and stood in front of it, hands in my pocket and rocking on my tiptoes

"I told you I would visit, so I did. I just came from England, got permission, and I am staying till tuesday. Its friday, just in case you didn't know. My birthday was a couple of days ago, I had so much fun,, the idiots threw a whole surprise party, black and white, like I wanted, and had pictures of me everywhere. We got drunk as hell, and ended up knocking out in the astronomy tower, with a hangover the next day"

"so, I am seventeen. I don't feel that different, maybe because I haven't technically used any magic out of school, unless you count the light weight spell I stuck on my trunk, but then again, I always used that spell, even before I was seventeen"

"A lots happened since I saw you last. But, then again, its me, so its not too shocking." I breathed deeply "I umm.. I got disowned. After christmas holidays, or well, technically after I visited you. But I am really happy, to be honest. The others don't get it too much, but you knew what it was like. I was never truly apart of their family anyway. Its now a.. relief. Knowing I won't have to go back. My only regret is leaving Sky, but I owl her all the time. And you have to loose some to gain some, huh?

Finn bought an apartment, in Diagon alley. Didn't cut back too, its got four bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. Store room, three bathrooms with Jacuzzis in em all, plus a room for exercising and pool on the terrace. But you know, daddy's money" I chuckled "I have to go, its 10 50, and I promised your mom I would get back by 11. I will come by again tomorrow. I love you Luke, goodnight" with that, I walked away, I didn't get far, as I bumped into someone on the path

"oh sh-t, sorry!" I apologised, scrambling to pick myself up, and offering a hand to the girl in front of me

"its okay, I shoulda been looking at where I was going" she replied, taking my out stretched arm. I got a proper look of her when she stood, and felt a strange sense of recognition, she looked so familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on where I had seen her. She was about 5'5, with light brown hair pulled into a pony, swaying at her shoulder, and bright, blue eyes

"Lorelai?" she gasped, looking at me

"yeah.." I trailed, feeling agitated that I couldn't remember who she was

"its me, Sienna Fredricks" she smiled,

"S?" I breathed in recognition, of course!

"how are you?" she laughed, pulling me into a hug

"I am good, and you?" I asked. S had been in our grade back at Ilvermorny, different house, but we were good friends. There was a big group of them that we used to hang out with

"great! I didn't know you were in town, otherwise I would've visited!"

"yeah, I came to visit Sky, and the Bishops, it was pretty last minute" I explained "what are you doing here?"

her easy smile slipped slightly "visiting Luke" she whispered "I.. um, usually come say hi, whenever I can. And I haven't been here since a week before christmas break, so I wanted to come down and I had to visit my Gran anyways"

"you visit him?" I asked, surprised. I saw the presents from them last time I came, but I never.. thought they would actually take the time to visit

"yeah, I try to. You know, to keep him updated on everything in Ilvermorny. You know how he loved hearing the gossip" she laughed lightly, it was true, Luke gossiped more than a third year girl "I just tell him everything, who's dating who, who won the Quidditch match. Stupid things"

"it's not stupid" I replied "I am sure he loves it"

we fell into a few minutes of silence,

"I was going to write" she suddenly blurted out, shifting her feet uncomfortably

"I wanted to.. I mean" she hurried on

'why didn't you?"

"I... didn't know what to say" she admitted

"a hi would have been nice" I joked "thanks for the necklace, by the way" I added, referring to the present I got from her on my birthday

"you are welcome. And I.. I guess I had too much to say.. stuff that felt wrong just writing"

"what do you mean?"

"I guess I just feel guilty" Sienna admitted, this shocked me, why did she feel guilty?

"guilty for what?" I voiced

"for you all getting expelled! I was going to go to the head, tell her she was being an idiot! I mean, she was completely nutty, kicking you all out for punching that arsehole. Dallas completely deserved it! He was an arrogant douche.. but the others kept on telling me to leave it, and save my own arse, so I did" she told me, ashamed

"S, there was nothing you could of done. I appreciate the support, I really do. But to be honest, it was a long time coming, I don't think you could of changed her mind. Us getting expelled was something that was going to happen, it was just a matter of time, if it wasn't for punching Dallas, it would be for something else" I said honestly, sitting on the bench with her

"it wasn't fair, you getting expelled. After everything that happened with you all!"

"S, I would have been pissed if they didn't" I answered honestly, and continued as she looked at me, shocked "if they made excuses out of sympathy, I would have been seriously annoyed, you know us, we hate sympathy"

"it still pisses me off that Dallas went off, free, the douche"

I laughed "do you know why we got expelled?" I asked her, maybe then she would understand

"no... there were rumors, about what he said. But nothing was confirmed"

"it was after Transfiguration. Finn, Mark and I were heading to lunch, An was in the library. Dallas came up, and began insulting us, Ann mainly, telling us that the only reason we hadn't been kicked out yet, was because we were the school's pity case, ironically. We ignored it, or, Mark did, and held Finn and I back" "but then he started on Luke, and his family. Calling Gem all these names, and saying Luke... Luke deserved what happened to him, and I shoulda gone too" cue gasp from Sienna

"that was when Mark flipped, let go of us, and punched Dallas straight up, Finn and I joined him, kicking the crap out of that arsehole. And then the Headmistress and expelled us, not even waiting for an explanation"

"that piece of sh-t" swore Sienna, angrily. I laughed, it was so weird to hear S swear, she was always so sweet about everyone

"I hope you know that we all boycotted Dallas after it happened. Even though we had no idea what happened, he has no friends now. And he deserves it"

my heart swelled at the support we still had at Ilvermorny

"thanks S" I smiled sincerely

"we miss you, all of us. Ilvermorny isn't the same without you all' she carried on

"we miss you all too, and I am sorry for not owling too, we should definitely keep in touch" I told her genuinely, S was one of a kind, and I really did like her

"definitely, and try to visit us too!"

"I will" I promised "I have to go, or Emily will have my head. See you around?"

"definitely" we hugged, and then parted ways, me towards the exit, and her towards Luke's grave.

MARCUS'S POV

"-what a physco!" slurred Anna, tumbling down the Hogsmede streets, I caught her quickly, and we both stumbled down the road together, Finn by our side, carrying the alocohol

"I can't believe we got kicked out!" I agreed, nodding my head enthusiastically

"we didn't ev-en get our n-in-th dr-ink" protested Finn, looking back at the pub sadly

"d-on't worry Finnie, we ha-ve the whiskey!" Anna consoled, rubbing Finn's back comfortingly.

"lets sit down to dri-nk" I suggested, pointing to a bench nearby

"no! I am c-o, col-, I am not hot!" Anna exclaimed, frustrated. She wasn't the smartest of drunks, I have to say

"lets go back to the castle and finish our booze!" Finn grinned, bounding down the streets in the direction of Honeydukes, but his lack of co ordination and the lack of light led to him tumbling over. We rushed over to help him and headed back to the castle

"shhhh" hissed Anna as Finn tumbled into a suit of armour

"its not my fault!" whispered Finn

"yes it was!"

"no it wasn't"

"was"

"wasn't"

"uh huh"

"nuh huh"

"guys shut it!" I whispered sharply, as each of their protests got louder and louder. They hushed up, and instead chose to glare at each other as we tumbled towards the direction of the room of requirements, planning to have a sleep over and drink. A lot.

"remember when we thought Olsen spread rumors about Lore, and jinxed his so everything he said came out in an off key song?" laughed Finn, chugging down some more alcohol. We were beyond drunk, as one could tell by the eight empty bottles lying on the floor. It was about 3 in the morning, and we had gone from playing never have I ever, to truth and dare, to 21 questions to now just re counting random memories of us in Ilvermorny.

"or when we ditched home during the winter holidays and took a holiday to Australia?" I suddenly remembered

"and Finn kissed a koala?" Anna giggled, hiccuping

and so the night continued, with us laughing our arses off until we all knocked out.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Anna POV

"Lore! Help me!" i groaned, shuffling through a pile of photos on the floor in our dorm.

"noooo, this was your idea! I don't wanna!" Lorelai protested from her spot on her bed where she was lying upside down, head off the side

"I dont care what you wanna do, Lorelai! It needs to be done, we have been hoarding this junk since forever! We need to clear some sh-t out!" I answered her. Half of this stuff was Lorelai's, she had 'emotional attachment' to almost everything. She wouldn't even let me throw out her burnt Hipogriff socks!

"can't we do it later?" she moaned, red hair cascading down onto the floor in waves

I leaned over and yanked her hair slightly, causing her to yell and tumble onto the floor "help" I ordered

"no! I refuse to assist my abuser!" she cried out dramatically, standing up and pointing at me accusingly. Idiot

"stop being a drama queen!"

"yeah! I don't wanna be king if you're queen!" Finn grinned, skipping into the room, Mark behind him, and the Wotters following

"I have taken care of him for four hours! Your turn!" Mark sighed exasperated, crashing onto my bed, head in hands

"No! I took care of him yesterday! You do it!" Lorelai responded

"well I did it on thursday _and_ wednesday, so I am not doing it again!" I told them both

"I have been tying my shoes for over 10 years!" Finn cut in, looking torn between amusement and annoyance

"what, you think you can take care of yourself?" Mark responded, skeptical

"yes!" Finn protested "besides, I am sure Rose can watch me" he shrugged

"no thanks, I don't fancy getting another detention!" Rose answered, frowning. She still hadn't forgiven Finn for landing her her, her first detention this year when he set off dungbombs while talking to her

"aww Rosie, you know you love me" Finn grinned

"love to kill you, more like it" she shot back, taking a seat on the floor next to me

"what is all this mess anyways? Dom get pissed again?" James asked, sitting down on the bed that Lore had fallen off

"oh f-ck off, Potter" snapped Dom, throwing a pillow at him, he smirked, not taking his cousins words to heart.

"I am _trying_ to clean some sh-t up, no help from Lore" I told them, shuffling through some more photos

"hey! These aren't shit! These are memories!" Marcus protested, leaning down to pick up a photo "like this one! This is one of a kind! I mean how many people can say they have a photo of Nancy O Sullivan throwing a shoe at Gary Martins face while she had green pimples on her face that spelled "ME DA BEST' "

"not many people, because Finn doesn't go to everyones school" Lorelai smirked, taking the picture out of Marks hand and laughing

"hey! It was justified!" Finn answered

'what does Finn have to do with green pimples?" Lily asked curiously

"Finn jinxed O Suliivan after she dumped his arse, and she thought it was Martin, because they had gotten into a fight that very day" I explained

"For the last time _I dumped her!_ " cried out Finn, taking the photo from the two and looking at it himself, admiring his work

"no, you didn't!" chorused the three of us, used to Finn's denial. In his mind, he was a heart breaker, and no one would dare to break up with _him_

"whatever _"_ he grumbled

"so these are _all_ pictures of you?" Rose asked, taking a handful and shuffling through

"yeah, lets just say S, our friend, was very big on pictures" I shrugged,

"can we look?" Lily asked her

"sure, as long as you help me sort them out, I am organizing them by years, you can tell the year 'cause it's written on the back"

the Wotters all got to work, helping me, while Finn, Mark and Lore giggled over a couple in the corner. This is why I made more friends.

FINN'S POV:

"so, _who is this?_ " Selena finally asked, pointing to someone in the pictures "he appears in all your pictures! You already told us about Sienna and your other friends, but he seems as close to you all as you are to each other"

I froze and glanced at Mark who looked at Lore quickly. We didn't realise they would ask about Luke.

"he's just a friend" shrugged off Anna, trying to act like it was no biggie. Which was hard, seeing as Lore had gone all rigid and refused to look at anything but the stain on the rug. I don't blame her, it was a very interesting colour.. kinda purple.. but more green.

I am way off topic

"what's his name?" Lily asked innocently, it was funny, how such an innocent question could carry so much weight

"umm, just a guy we knew, I forget, you know with so many names" awkwardly laughed Mark, trying to take the picture out of Selena's hand.

"his name was Luke" suddenly spoke Lore, in a whisper

"Lore.." Anna began

"No, An" she cut in sharply "I am _not_ going to pretend that Luke didn't mean anything to us. He is my best friend" she stumbled,

"Luke was our best friend, he was like my brother, thats why you saw him so much. Because he was important to us all" Lorelai told them, finally peeling her eyes off the spot on the rug. It looks kinda blueish now. She stood up quickly and muttered "I need a walk" before heading out.

My, my, my, we are a dramatic bunch.

"and you call me a drama king" I laughed nervously, trying to

cut some of the tension in the room. Mark and Anna chuckled fakely

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to interfere! I swear! I am just.. going to Avada myself" muttered Selena, face flushed in embarrassment

"no, it's fine, you didn't know" Anna told her, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from standing up. Come on Ans, Sel isn't a dramatic freak like us, she won't really avada herself. I hope.

"I really didn't mean too" she repeated

"it's fine.. Luke is just a _hard_ topic for us to talk about. Especially for Lore" Mark assured them

"we should go find Lore, excuse us" Anna told them, looking at Mark and I meaningfully, we nodded and stood, following her out the dormitory

"can't she pick somewhere cooler to be dramatic?" I complained. It _definitely_ wasn't winter anymore. May had come round, and brought the heat at full speed. Thank Merlin school ended soon.

"stop being a jerk Finn, Lore's upset, we have to be there for her" Anna snapped, but she walked eagerly, almost like she was happy to have an upset friend. I knew it was just because she felt happy that she could help Lore, the way she saw it, Lore was _finally_ acting humane and showing emotions.

"sorry _mom_ " I muttered sarcastically. Anna didn't hear me, but Mark did, and shot me a glare as he stepped on my toes "stop it" he hissed

I rolled my eyes. Dramatic much?

Before you all say anything, I am _not_ being a bad friend. But this is Lore, she has probably punched a tree and is fine now. She's not like us, she doesn't stay angry or sad for too long.

"Lore?" called out Anna as we reached the top of the astronomy tower

'what?" she responded, watching some first years enjoy the summer sun. how could anyone enjoy this?

"you okay?" she asked, sitting next to Lore, Mark and I settled on either side of them

"yup, course I am, I just needed a walk, all that dust, you know?" she brushed off, not taking her eyes off the lawns

"Sel didn't mean it, nor did Lily" Anna assured her

"I know, I am not angry at them. I am not angry at anyone. I am not angry. I just needed a walk" she informed us

"you sure?" Anna pressed on, I gave her a warning glare and a nudge. Lorelai didn't need to be pressed, that was what made her retreat.

"yes" responded Lorelai shortly

Anna seemed to get the message after that, and stopped talking

"it's almost our NEWT year" I pointed out after a while

"are you excited Finn?" teased Anna, happy for the distraction

"oh yeah, that's it" I responded sarcastically "No, I am just remembering the bet we made. Remember Lore?" I winked at her

"oh hell no, I only promised that because I thought Luke would have to do it"

"what bet, how come Ann and I weren't included?" Mark questioned, mock offended

'because you two are kill joys" grinned Lorelai, Mark pouted and she smirked, reaching over to pinch his cheeks

"we were in detention, and made a bet, whoever got detention closest to the NEWTS would have to run down the halls, in their underwear, screaming "YANKY DOODLE WENT TO TOWN" " I explained, snickering at the thought

"Finn and I were going to team up and make sure Luke got the short straw, after charming his skin to sparkle, of course" Lore reminisced

"well, a bet is a bet, you two should do it" Mark smirked

"hell no" repeated Lorelai, crossing her arms

"aww, is Little L chicken?" I smiled, squatting my arms as if I was a chicken

"mature" she spat sarcastically

"CHICKEN!" the three of chorused

"fine! I will do it!" Lorelai snapped. She was a true Gryffindor, couldn't turn down a dare.

"you all are a bunch of d-ckheads" she added under her breath

"but ya love us!"

MARK'S POV

"should we tell 'em?" I whispered to Anna as Finn and Lore arm wrestled. We were sitting in the corner, discussing the previous events

"I dunno.. I think so, they have been such great friends. But its Lore's decision at the end of the day" Anna responded slowly, biting her lip

"what's my decision?" Lorelai called over, grinning triumphantly as Finn pouted, in defeat

"nothing" Anna responded quickly

"Ann..." trailed off Lore, walking over to sit next to us "tell me" she ordered

"there is nothing to tell!"

"yes, there is"

"isn't"

"is"

"nope"

"yup"

"nada"

"uh huh"

"zilch"

"zero"

"one hundred percent" caved in Anna, as she noticed her mistake, she frowned as Lorelai grinned

"tell me!"

"I was just wondering if we should tell the guys about Luke!" she blurted out, covering her mouth in shock

silence.

"we should"

silence

"what?" Anna sputtered, shocked

"we should tell them, I mean, they have done nothing but help us. It0's not fair hiding stuff from them" Lore explained, calmly. IT0'S A TRAP, RETREAT

"it's not a trap, Haywood" snapped Lore, amused

"shit, did I say that out loud?" I muttered

"yup. And it's not. I am serious. They deserve to know"

"like now?" Anna asked

"no time like the present" answered Lorelai, standing up and racing down the steps.

Merlin, we were all crazy

LORE'S POV

".. we met when we were seven, he moved in opposite us, and we were best friends from the start. His mom used to say we were soul mates. Anyways, Luke was there for me through everything that happened with my parents. And then when we got to Ilvermorny, and met An and the boys, it was a complete group. We all cared about each other and were happy, being immature and just living" Lorelai told. After she had ran out the astronomy tower, we went back to the dorm were the Wotters were lounging around awkwardly, and Lore began to tell them about Luke, without interruptions "we spent our time in Ilvermorny having fun, not caring about our grades or anything. We used to sneak out all the time. That's when everything screwed up.

One day, Luke and I snuck out of school while everyone was studying for their potion test the next day, it was forth year.

" _come on Lukey, I wanna go get drunk!" I sighed, upside on the couch next to my best friend_

" _Lore, I gotta reply to my mom, I have been putting it off for days. Besides, you got drunk two days ago, you are destroying your body"_

" _like you give a f-ck" I grinned_

" _are you saying I don't have any concern for my friend and am perfectly willing to let her drink her bodies weight of alcohol, destroying her lungs in the process?" he gasped, clutching his heart in mock offense_

" _damn right" I smirked_

"" _well, if thats the case. Fine, lemme reply to mom before she comes down to the school to bet my arse and then we can go, okay?"_

" _sure, I am gonna go change into something for the bar" I grinned, excited_

" _let's hit YOUNG's" I slurred, having to lean on Luke for support_

" _sure" he agreed. I was sure now that if one of us were less drunk, we would of realised that four bars were enough, and we should head back, especially seeing as it was two in the morning. But after the eighth shot, we were pretty much up for anything_

" _The guys are going to be so jealous after they find out we snuck out without they" Luke grinned_

" _its their fault, they should of invited us to their detention" I stated, now taking off my heels and holding them in my hands_

" _thats so true! How rude of them!" he nodded, tousling his hair_

" _we should go tell them off" I suddenly suggested, causing Luke to nod his head, viciously_

" _yeah! Let's go" he agreed, I took off down the middle of the street, and Luke followed, steps behind me,_

" _slow down Katy!" he slurred_

" _no thanks" I smirked, quicken my pace, tossing my silver heels on the pavement, not caring about them_

" _KATY! SLOW DOWN!" he shouted, suddenly sounding more sober, I ignored him, thinking it was a trick to win_

" _LORELAI!" he repeated, and suddenly, I was thrown on the floor, inches away from were I stood, and I felt the wind of a car whizz by, I turned around, arm bleeding from the fall, and saw Luke, lying there, limps in odd places and a pool of blood around him_

" _NO!" I screamed, crawling over to him, suddenly feeling **very** sober. _

" _Luke!" I cried, desperately, shaking his arm, not at all bothered by the crimson red now staining my white shirt_

" _LUCAS!" I repeated, vomit forming in my throat, I swallowed, and shook him, frantically "Luke, please! Get up! GET UP!" I bellowed, when I got no response, I cradled his head in my lap, and bent over, tears staining my battered face "Luke, please." I cried, desperately "please, Merlin, get up. Luke, please! I need you! Luke!" "I love you Luke. I love you, you're my brother and I need you and I love you and I need you to wake up! WAKE UP!" I continued, helplessly, as if my words would magically heal him. I was so wrong._

 _I have honestly no idea how long I sat there, knees folded, with no shoes on, as Luke rested on my lap, my body numb, the only physical feeling was my arm, which was stinging from the fall. I just sat there, head bent over Luke's, tears washing away the blood from his face, as I begged him to wake up. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand touch my bare shoulder, and saw a stranger over me._

 _I refused to get off the street, and to leave Luke, waiting for Luke's family to come as the man who called Emily stood next to me, awkwardly patting my back. My Witch Mirror cracked from the fall, so I couldn't even ring Finn, An or Mark._

 _Finally, Emily came running down the street, with Gem, Fin, An, Mark, Seth and the Headmistress close behind her_

" _oh my" she gasped, hand covering her face as she took in the image in front of her, Seth caught up to her and wrapped an arm around her in a comforting manner, as Gemma sobbed into his shoulder_

 _Mark comforted Anna while Finn came up to me, "Lore" he sighed, tears in his eyes. He opened his arms to me, but I shook my head, refusing to move, somehow, I felt as though by leaving Luke, it was over. Even though it was over ages before._

 _Wordlessly, Finn bent down, and wrenched me away from Luke, pulling me into his arms, I silently shook into his chest, tears long before having ran out._

" _it's going to be okay" he breathed, rubbing my back,_

" _it's going to be okay" he repeated, his tears falling on my hair._

"a f-cking car" I laughed bitterly "we are wizards, and a f-cking piece of metal with wheels killed him"

"Lore- _"_ Selena began, tears in her eyes "I am fine" I immediately answered _"_ I am fine _"_ I repeated, staring at the wood bed in front of me, eyes dry.

" _Luke and I met when I was . And we were instant friends, he moved in opposite to me, and from that day we spent everyday with each other. He was more than a friend to me, he was my brother, my partner in crime. I could tell him anything and I knew he wouldn't judge me._

 _Luke was the most loyal person I have ever met. He was a really chill, go-with-the-flow kinda guy, except for when it came to the people he loved. Because if you hurt the people he loved, he would attack. He was fiercely loyal, and often had no respect for the rules when it came to defending his family or friends._

 _He was definitely the more morally correct one out us two" I smiled, earning some sad laughs from the crowd "but even then, he loved a bit of mischief. He got this glint in his eyes before we did anything wrong and would giggle like crazy, making it hell to pull a prank with the idiot._

 _Everyone loved him, and even those who didn't, they respected him. He was just that kinda guy, you know? He helped everyone and always had a smile and conversation ready for anyone he bumped into. He tutored the third years, helped the firsties, and was really respectful to the seventh years. Even the teachers loved him, despite the fact he was always late to class and barely ever did his homework._

 _I could go on and on, talking about Luke, reliving my favourite memories with him, but I just.. what I want to say is that I will miss him._ _ **So**_ _much. Luke was my rock, I leaned on him for so much. I_ _ **love**_ _him so much_

 _to Luke, you will always be with us._ _"_

 _I raised my glass in the air, and stared at the sky, eyes red, but dry._

 _!scene change!_

" _Luke?" I whispered, knocking lightly on the second year boys dorm "Luke" I repeated, tip toeing to his bed_

" _Katy?" he responded groggily, rolling over onto his side to face me_

" _I had a bad night, can I sleep with you? I asked sheepishly, still clutching the letter in my hand_

" _yeah, sure. Come on" answered Luke, lifting the end of his covers for me to slip into. I immediately cuddled into his side as he wrapped an arm around me_

 _'"wanna talk about it?" he breathed onto my hair_

" _no, not really" I sighed, closing my eyes_

" _sure"_

 _silence fell on us for some time, and all I could hear was Finn's snores, Mark's steady breathes and feel Luke's chest raising up and down with every breath_

" _Luke?" I asked, deep in thought_

" _yeah Katy?"_

" _can you promise me something?" I questioned, gripping the letter in my hands, the words fresh in my brain_

 _he responded, almost immediately "anything"_

" _promise you will never leave me, that no matter what I do to screw up, you won't give up on me_ "

" _I promise_ " _he told me, not waiting a second. Shifting comfortable , he continued "I promise you Katy, that no matter where I am, you can always count on me, even if I am not physically around, I will always be there for you"_

" _I love you Luke" I smiled, feeling better_

" _right back at ya Katy" he breathed, lulling back to sleep._

I woke up, gasping for breathe, after I recognized my surroundings and felt the comfortable Gryffindor sheets underneath me, I relaxed, and reached for a cup of water. Thinking of my dreams, merlin, if only I knew how true his words were then. When he said about no being there physically, I assumed he was saying as much to reassure a broken, twelve year old. I never realised how true it would be.


	13. Chapter 13

ANNA'S POV

"OH THOSE LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMERRRR  
THOSE DAYS OF SODA AND PRETZELS AND BEERRRR  
ROLL OUT THOSE LAZYYY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMERR! DUST OFF THE SUNNN AND MOON AND SING A SONG OF CHE-"

"SHUT THE F-KE UP WEST!" screamed Lorelai, piling more pillows onto her head as Finn bounded up and down the dormitory room, singing off key as he went

"BUT ITS OH THOSE LAZY HAZY CR- OOF!" he bellowed, before folding over as he received a well aimed pillow to the stomach

"you are an arse, West" Lorelai glared, sitting up on her bed, red hair knotted

"and you are a witch, Beckett" he replied easily

"with a wand" she smirked, grabbing said object and jinxing him with a tickling spell

"I hate you" he glared, after catching his breath

"I know" Lorelai grinned, much happier than before. I guess jinxing brown headed idiots does brighten up your mood

"the trains leaving in an hour, are you all ready?" Mark asked, waltzing into the dorm, he paused in his tracks and took in Finn's body on the floor, tears of mirth rolling down his face, my half packed trunk, and Lore's... well... 'morning look' and concluded "I guess not"

"an hour?" Lorelai suddenly exclaimed, comprehending Mark's words

"yup"

"sh-t!" she swore, jumping up and running towards the washroom, blindly grabbing a pair of jeans and top

"how long will it take her to realise she just picked up Dom's trick shirt?" I smirked,

"AHHHH"

"not long, apparently" laughed Mark, as a purple skinned Lorelai came running out the washroom, screaming bloody murder at Dom

'I'm sorry!" apologised James for the umpteenth time

"tell that to my purple skin!" snapped Lorelai

"It wasn't meant for you! I swear! Please, don't kill me" cowered James, in his defense there was a 6'1, red haired, purple skin, pissed off girl pointing her wand at him

"so it was meant for me?!" Dom suddenly burst, also taking out her wand and pointing it at her cousin, who was crouching on the floor, arms over head, begging for mercy

"merlin, can't you two take a joke?" he burst out

"ohhhhh... wrong move mate" Finn snickered as Dom and Lore shared a look before cursing their cousin/friend respectively  
=-=-=-=-=-=

"you sure you don't need a lift to the airport? Harry won't mind" Ginny fretted

"thanks Mrs. Potter, but we are good, I am sure you want to catch up with your kids" I smiled politely

"if you are sure.. but you will be coming to stay with us next month?" she confirmed

"as long as its okay with you" I assured it, the guys, Lore and I planned on visiting the states, spending the first month there, and then heading back to England, where we spend the time at the Potters, who had offered

"of course dear, and if there are any problems, don't worry about coming earlier" she smiled, before hugging me, I hugged her back before turning to say goodbye to everyone else

"you ready?" I checked, as Lore transformed our trunks to look like suitcases so we wouldn't look weird going into the muggle world

"to spend a spectacular month with my wonderful mother and kind, affectionate father? Can't wait" Finn exclaimed. That was sarcasm, if you didn't realise.

"I told you to just stay with me" I pointed out, as we walked through the platform wall

"and I would of accepted it in a flash, but daddy dearest requires the presence of his son, so he can lie about my achievements"

"and _that,_ is exactly why I lied to my parents and said I was only staying in America for a week, not that they give a shit" Mark pointed out

"well, Finns always been lacking in the brain department, you know that" Lorelai smirked, one hand trying to pull her loose red locks into a bun, while the other pulled her suitcase, Mark took the handle from her, and guided both his and her suitcases so she could tye her pony

"hey, Mr Chivalry you could pull mine too" I joked, not at all expecting him to take my suitcase from me, and wheel Lore and i's with one hand, and his with the other

"Oh, its fine Mark, I can do it, I feel guilty now" I apologised,

"I don't" grinned Finn "here mate, take mine too!" he left his handle, expecting Mark to pick it, but it just dropped on the floor

"arse hole" he glared, picking up his suitcase

"grow some boobs, and then we will see" Mark snipped back

"hey, don't be a sexist pig, Mark" I scolded, before shuddering

"you thought 'scolded' didn't you?" Lore smirked, amused

"we need to get back to America" was all I replied with

we were on the plane, Lore and I were sitting with Finn and Mark in front of us, and I was bored out my mind, Lore was watching some new movie that came out while we were in Hogwarts,and I was listening to music and trying to get some homework done, because knowing us, the minute we hit American soil, all hell would break loose.

And thats only a _slight_ exaggeration

I gave up after I had written the word 'peculiar' thing in one sentence, and settled my head back, closing my eyes and allowing my brain to wander.

Things had greatly improved after Lore told the Wotters about Luke. It seemed that by _talking_ about it, helped her, and slowly, slowly, she was going back to the Lore I met in first year. The rest of us had been so happy when Lorelai began mentioning Luke loosely in conversations, without freezing or frowning. Hell, the first time she said his name, Finn spat out his pumpkin juice. Hes not big on subtly, as you can see.

"Anniieee" whispered Lorelai, I sighed and took out one of my ear phones, but kept my eyes closed,

"what?" I answered

"if you had eight monkeys and eight chickens, and could either sell 2 monkeys and 4 chickens, or 2 chickens and 4 monkeys, what you do?" she asked, completely serious

"2 chickens, and four monkeys" I responded,

"oh, good answer" she replied, before growing silent.

Yup, shes okay now

MARK'S POV

"I f-cking hate landing" Finn complained

"you fly for fun, how the hell does this bother you?" I asked him, as I passed him a chewing gum to chew on

"I have complete control of my broom, I don't trust whichever muggle is flying this metal piece of death" he answered

"prejudiceeee" sung Anna from her seat behind us

"shut up Annie" Finn growled, annoyed

"touchy" she teased, leaning back

"dad just texted, he said hes stuck in traffic, and to just wait for ten minutes, and he will be there" Anna told us as she rolled our suitcases to the airport lounge

"coffee?" Finn asked Lore

"why do you ask such idiotic questions?" she answered, smirking as they ran to the nearest starbucks, leaving us with their suitcases.

Sweet kids, really

"come on" I sighed, picking up Lore's and Finn's

"I can take one, you know" Annie told me

"what kinda Gryffindor would I be if I let a girl carry two suitcases" I grinned as we sat down on a couple of free seats, saving Lores and Finn's by putting their suitcases in front of them

"I should of left Finn's" I grumbled, Merlin knows what that weirdo sticks in his luggage

"you are too nice for your own good, Haywood" Anna reminded me, taking a seat next to me

"a burden I have to bear" I grinned

"and modest" she snorted

"well, living with Finn does have that affect on you'

"true"

"I knew you lot had a b-tch session about me when I am not around!" Finn grumbled, handing us both a coffee

"you caught us" sarcastically answered Anna, taking a sip of her coffee

"thanks guy"

"no problem" Lore grinned, taking a seat next to me, as Finn sat next to her

"how long till your dad gets here?" Finn asked Anna

"umm.. about three minutes now, we should head to the front "

answered Anna, taking a look at her watch

"DADDY!" squealed Anna, running into her fathers arms

"hey honey, I missed you" he chuckled, pulling her into a tight hug

"I missed you too" she whispered

"MR P! I want some love too" pouted Lorelai, walking closer to him

"Lorelai, its lovely too see you" smiled Mr Peyton, pulling her into a fatherly hug. He really loved Lore and her crazy attitude

"Finn, Mark! My boys! How are you doing?" he then asked, one hand still around Lore and An, as he shook our hands

"we're good, how are you?" I asked him

"I am great! Hows the quidditch going?" he questioned joyfully, taking the girls suitcases and rolling them to the car

"its great, the teams practicing really hard, we have a match against Slytherin when we get back, and Tutshill have asked us for an interview this summer" Finn grinned

"Wow! Thats brilliant guys! I better be getting free tickets, you know, for all those years I took you too games" Mr Peyton joked, turning on the ignition

"what what times?" smirked Finn

FINN'S POV

"MRS P!" I bellowed, running to hug Sarah after Anna had. Mrs Peyton was the best person ever, she was a great pie maker and could whip any old grannies arse at knitting

"its nice to see you too Finn" laughed Sarah as I pulled her into a hug. All the Peyton girls were so tiny

"put my wife down Finn" Mr Peyton laughed, trying to glare

"Why do you reject our love?" I sighed dramatically

"Finn, thats my _mom_ " Anna shuddered, a look of disgust on her face

"I made Shepard's pie and mash potatoes for lunch, are you all hungry?" Mrs Peyton asked us

I turned to Lorelai

"BECKETT!"

"WEST!"

"FOOOODDD!" I tossed her over my shoulder and ran with her too the kitchen

"Finn! Let me down!" she screamed into my ear

" 'kay" I smirked, letting her drop onto the floor in a heap

"prat" she grumbled, picking herself up and dusting her hair

"foooddd!" I answered, she rolled her eyes but shouted

"food!"

and off we went

"get offfff!" cried Anna as I lay on top of her, effectively stopping her from capturing my partner, Lorelai in a round of ice and water

"nope! You caught me, and I stopped, but there is no rule about _how_ I stop" I sung

"MARRKKKKK! FOR F-KES SAKE GRAB LORELAI BEFORE I F-CKING KILL FINN" she screamed at Mark as he chased Lorelai across the yard

"temper, temper" I tutted, purposely annoying her

"I f-cking hate you Findley West" she grumbled in response, giving up on struggling, she lay down, with my hands on her legs to stop her from moving

"Findley" suddenly laughed Lorelai out of nowhere, I whipped my head around to see Lorelai and Mark rolling in the grass next to us, laughing their arses off

"where the f-ke did you come from?" I glared angrily

"MARK?! WHAT THE F-KE ARE YOU DONIG? CAPTURE LORELAI YOU F-KING IDIOT! SHES RIGHT F-CKING THERE!" aww, Anna is so sweet

"ANNA CLAIRE PEYTON!" ooo, here comes funny

"I did not bring you up to have such atrocious language!" Mrs Peyton scolded, holding a tray full of lemonade

"but momm" she whined, still on the grass "Finn won't let me go!"

"Finn, dear, why are you holding my daughter captive?" Mrs Peyton asked me nicely, trying to hid a smile

"so she won't win" I shrugged

"can you let her go, please?" shrugging again, I let her go

"how the f-ke did that work?" Anna muttered, standing up and brushing grass off her shorts

"she said please" I smirked, at the same time Sarah shouted "Anna! Language!"

"sorry mom, is that for us?" she asked, pointing at the lemonade

"yes, but I don't think you deserve it"

"I am sorryyyy" Anna whined

"you are such a child sometimes" muttered Mrs Peyton fondly, passing her a glass of lemonade

"thanks" we all chorused, eagerly sipping our lemonade, hot from a long day in the blistering sun

"you are all more then welcome, now, its almost sunset, you should all come in, Merlin knows where you even got the energy to run after being on a plane for so many hours"

LORELAI'S POV:

"I am so f-cking tired" Anna groaned, dropping onto her bed, Finn was already lying on it, while Mark had chosen to rest on Annie's window seat. After a filling dinner (Mrs.P's heavenly steak and fries) we all headed upstairs, got changed in the rooms we were staying in (I was bunking in Annies room and Finn and Mark were sharing Sam's old room) and decided to relax in Annies room, we all usually ended up falling asleep in her room anyways, not that Mr or Mrs P minded, they knew we loved each other like siblings

"tell me about it. We should rule off 'playing in the yard for three hours after flying home' from our list of stupid things to never do again" Mark told us all. Thats a _long_ list

"right underneath 'never mix lemonade, firewhiskey and chocolate frogs together' " Finn smirked

"it was _one_ time!" I protested "and _you_ dared me too"

"you didn't have to go through with it!" he defended

"yeah, because Lores _so good_ at turning down dares" Anna snorted

"shut it Annie" I pouted, throwing a pillow at her

"when are we going to visit Ilvermorny?" Mark asked us suddenly

"well, they dont get holidays for another three days, so we can go tomorrow?" I suggested, remembering what Sienna had written to me

"sure, sounds good" Anna shrugged, the boys nodding in agreement

"its settled then" I smiled, I was so excited for visiting Ilvermorny, I missed our old group.

"imagine poor Mrs Faucheux when she sees us" Finn snickered, thinking of our old headmistress

'poor battleaxe wont know what hit her" Anna grinned, see? Even A _nna_ hated her. Anna didn't hate anyone, besides my parents.

"I am thinking dramatic entrance with fireworks and dung bombs?" suggested Finn

"and tons of glitter" I added

"of course" he smirked

and just like that, we fell in a comfortable stream of conversations, joking and planning, with no stress or tension. It was like old times. And it was nice.


	14. Chapter 14

0Chapter 4

Mark's POV

"I can't believe you wouldn't let me" pouted Finn as we trekked up the hill, trailing behind us

"oh, for f-kes sake Finn, let it go" snapped Anna, in her defense, Finn had been complaining for twenty minutes straight

"yeah Finn, Godric, your idea wasn't even _good_ " teased Lorelai " _mine_ on the other hand, well, I still don't understand why Annie was so against it"

"you wanted to stick all of the heads furniture on the fricken roof!" exclaimed Anna, exasperated, it was so easy to rile her up

Lorelai fell into step with Finn, probably so they could mourn together and spoke "I wasn't going to just do that! I was going to paint it, as well!"

poor Anna looked like she was about to burst.

"okay guys, stop before An exploded" I told them, biting my lip to stop laughing at her red face

"but it's so much fun!" they protested, smirking at each other

"guys..." I trailed off warning them, they got the message and shut up, snickering quietly to each other.

Oh yeah, Lore was so much better now.

"so what's the plan? Barge into the place we got expelled from?" I asked after a couple minutes of silence, albeit Lore and Finn's laughter

"I wasn't expelled " smirked Anna, I flicked her jokingly "look. I doubt ,Mrs Faucheux will care" mused Anna

"seriously, are we talking about the same Mrs Faucheux here? Because I am thinking about the women who hated us with every fiber of her being and tried to get us put in jail a couple of times" Finn responded sarcastically

"don't be a drama queen Finn" scolded Anna. Scolded. Great, I am officially a Briton. Shudders.

"the term is drama king! Say it with me! Drama! King!" he ranted

"of course, your highness" I smirked, dodging a well aimed hex he sent my way

"oh look! We are here!" squealed Anna in excitement, jumping in her step as an old, yet gorgeous castle came into view

"only you would be so happy to see a school" smirked Finn in amusement, Anna ignored him, too happy to care

"Anna? Is that you?!" a happy voice exclaimed, and all of a sudden a 5'5, brunette came bounding into Anna

"S?" gasped Anna, desperately trying to keep her balance

"oh my Merlin! I can't believe you lot came!" Sienna squealed, pulling away from Anna and launching herself onto Finn

'hey! I want some love!" I pouted, grinning as Sienna excitedly grabbed me into the hug

"ew! I don't wanna hug Haywood! Merlin knows what germs I will catch" Finn frowned in disgust

"don't be a jerk, Finn" S grinned lightly, moving to hug Lore. Lorelai, being the awkward soul she is, gave her a one armed hug and pulled away as quick as humanely possible

"I can't believe you all are actually here!" she squealed again, clapping her hands in excitement

"you _have_ to come see everyone! Merlin, they will be so excited! C'me on!" she grinned, pulling us along with her, back outside

"so S, how's Bishop?" I asked her, smirking slightly. Sienna _hated_ Seth, they fought all the time back when we all hung out "Seth? he.. Bishop... umm... he's"

"spit it out Fredricks" Lorelai drawled, smirking lazily

"we are dating!" she blurted, clasping a hand over her mouth, stunned

"West! Hand it over!" chuckled Lorelai in truimph, holding her hand out, grumbling, Finn handed her twelve galleons

"couldn't of held out a _bit longer?_ " he grumbled to Sienna

"you bet on us?!" Sienna exclaimed, outraged

"like it's a big shock" shot Lorelai, S contemplated it, and then shrugged, letting the topic slide

"OHMYGOD!"

huh. Maybe those will be the first words I hear in heaven too.

"ooff. Gwen, babe, I love you, but you are squashing my airway" I grunted

"oops! Sorry! I am just so happy to see you!" squealed an over excited, 5'9 blonde in a bikini, she got off me before running to hug Finn, not caring she was under dressed, that's Gwen for ya.

"hey Haywood" smirked a more calm girl, with black hair and piercing green eyes

"Vance" I nodded awkwardly, hands in my pocket.

"Haywood, you have suck your tongue down my throat before, I think we are past last name base" she laughed, pulling me into a hug.

"right" I sighed, relaxing. Marlene and I had a complicated... past. We dated back in fourth year, but she dumped my arse after she caught me out with another girl. I never cheated on her, but I guess I was a shit boyfriend.

I looked around to see that the whole group was here, there was Gwen Pukwudgie, Marls (Wampus), Blake (thunderbird), Seth (thunderbird), Logan thunderbird, Sam (horned serpent) and Emma (Horned Serpent)

"alright, Haywood?" asked Logan, fist pumping me, I nodded, grinning

"brill, and you?"

"would be doing better if I had a competent team" he mused. Right. Finn, Lor, Logan, Blake, Seth, me and a seventh year made up the quidditch team last year. S told Lor that Logan was made captain, and after we all left, that meant half his team was gone.

"yeah, I got Blake and Seth, but Merlin, are those second years f-cking idiots. It took me three weeks to teach the beater how to hold a fricken bat" he grumbled

"why not get a fifth year?"

"there aren't anyone! It's like a quidditch drought or some sh-t"

"sorry Steinback, we apologise for getting expelled, I mean, look how it screwed up _your_ life" Lorelai spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes

"apology accepted" he smirked, hugging her

"get off!" she growled

"aww, I know you missed me Beckett"

"yeah, you wish" she muttered, he let her go and she walked over to Marls, starting a conversation.

ANNA'S POV:

"so, how long are you all here for?" Emma asked, after we all said our greetings, we sat down and caught up

"in America? For this month" I told her, making a flower chain with the daisy's growing around us

"oh cool, we should totally hang out after school's out" grinned Gwen

"definitely" I smiled, happy to be back with these guys. Merlin, did I miss them

"we should sneak out, like old times" Logan suggested

"well, seeing as we are expelled, I doubt it would classify as 'sneaking out' " contemplated Lore

"well, help us sneak out then Beckett" he glared teasingly

"honey, if I helped you sneak out, it would be to kill you" she smiled sweetly

"you love me" he repeated

"keep dreaming, honey"

"don't need to"

"oh come on guys, don't start with the fights" groaned Gwen, exasperated

"yeah, tell us about you lot! Anything new?" S asked us, excited

"well, Marky boy and I have a interview with Tutshill this summer" Finn told them, sitting up proudly

"what? Seriously? How the f-ck did you score that?" Blake asked. Trust these idiots to go cuckoo over quidditch, I exchanged amused looks with Emma

"Ginny Potter" boasted Mark

"what? Y'all are in with the Potters?" gasped Seth, he loved Ginny

"yeah, I am sure I told S, we are friends with the Weasleys and Potters" still, after all this time, Lore refused to call them Wotters

"S?" asked Logan, glancing at her accusingly

"I swear I told you all" she muttered, thinking

"well, we are friends with them, they are pretty cool, nosy as hell, but cool" shrugged Lore

"Tutshill, though. That's f-cking awesome, congrats guys!" Emma congratulated

"thanks, Em. Let's hope we actual get it" Mark grinned

"course you will!" answered Logan confidently

"anything else you all failed to mentioned?" Seth asked accusingly

"I got disowned" shrugged Lore, feeling relaxed. All her friends knew about her crazy family

"I didn't even know that!" S exclaimed, flicking her fingers, happy

"okay" Lore grinned, amused "anyways, I got disowned unofficial in the winter hols"

"what, when?" S gasped

"day I bumped into you"

"and you didn't tell me?!"

"yeah, thats a smashin conversation 'hey S, yup, I am great, bit f-cked up, missing my best friend, oh, and I am not only expelled, but also disowned! Guess what they have in common? I get kicked outta places!' " she smirked teasingly

"you coulda brought it up, 'tisall I am saying" Sienna grumbled, lying backwards on the floor

"sorry S" smirked Lore, highly amused

"Annie, you got any secrets you wanna share?" Logan chuckled

"um.. I got a hair cut?" I grinned, lifting my locks into the sun

"what?!" he gasped, clasping his heart "and you didn't _tell_ us?! You just let Lore blab on about being disowned?" she slapped him "my Merlin! Those lock's" he continued, grabbing a strand of my blonde hair "they are, magnifique!"

"okay, enough, you prick" I laughed, causing them all to stare at me

"oh no! She's gone- she's gone _British_ " Seth gasped, clutching his heart along with Logan and Blake and frowning in disgust

"is it too late to get her back?" Logan asked, checking my forehead

"yes. It's been to long. She's gone to the _dark_ side" Seth answered solemnly

"you lot are _idiots_ " I groaned, smacking them over the head

"so, how _is_ England?" Gwen asked us, curious, she had always wanted to travel and become a photographer, but her mother was highly against it, seeing as it wasn't exactly stable

"it's great. Always raining, but cool" Lore shrugged, I flicked her. Great definition, Lore

"it's kinda quite, like how Edinburg is, at least the Potter's place is. London is kinda like New York, bustling, busy. Everyone is super nice, but more conserved, they aren't the kinda people who would stop a stranger on the street to talk about the weather, but they are always helpful"

"it sounds amazing. Merlin, I can't wait to get out of school, and travel" Gwen sighed wistfully

"your mom agreed?"

"nope" she sighed, annoyed

"you want my opinion?" Lore asked

"no" joked Gwen,

Lore glared, but continued "do what you want. F-ck your mom, she should be happy for you"

"that's terrible advice Lore" I frowned "Gwen's mom is just looking out for her"

"kay" Lore shrugged, unaffected. Merlin, that girl was so fricken indifferent sometimes

"talk to your mom, it's your dream, I am sure she will come round" I advised

"thanks, Anna" smiled Gwen

"that's Anna Peyton for you, back for one day, and already solving every ones problems" smirked Logan

"Except your's, that would take a century" I answered cheerfully

"much more" agreed Emma

FINN'S POV:

"we should probably head in to pack" Emma told them, causing several groans

"nooo" moaned Gwen, she _hated_ packing. Or being organized

"I thought you all were here for another two days, when do you ever pack before the last half hour?" An teased

"yeah, but we are going to party tomorrow in the common room, us and a couple of seventh years, which means we will be drunk off our arse and wake up with a huge hangover, may as well get it done now" shrugged S

"how come I wasn't invited?" I asked, pretending to be offended

"you don't go here, you weirdo" laughed Marls

"still, it's the thought that counts" I shrugged, pulling her into a nougie

"Findley! Get off!" she shouted, causing Mark and Lore to burst out into laughter

"seriously? You two are so f-cking immature. You have known West's name for years, and you still laugh?" Marls groaned

"it's so f-cking funny though" giggled Lore, gripping Mark''s arm for support to stop her from tumbling over

"Fin-dley" agreed Mark, tears in his eyes

"idiots" I grumbled

"come on guys, you can watch us pack" smirked Sienna, heading to the castle, we followed her into the large corridor, our eyes adjusting to the darker surroundings

"look who have shown up" sneered a boy from the shadows, as he walked forward, I swear I heard Sienna hiss in hatred

"f-ck off, Dallas" growled Logan angrily, walking in front of Gwen and the girls in protection

"aww, you think big bad Dallas is going to attack your little friends?" he teased, chuckling. Slimy arse

"more like he's thinks that if we jump you, you'll end up dead, cause there is no f-cking way we would stop" I answered, stepping forward and moving Anna behind me, protectively. I don't trust this guy.

"West, nice to see you" he nodded

"Pity, I don't feel the same. Now, take Logan's advice, and f-ck off, to hell, preferable. We all know you will end up there eventually"

"tsk, tsk, you should be a bit more respectable, I mean, it is _my_ school after all"

"seriously?" Lorelai laughed, a bit maniacally. I won't hold it against her, this guys a jerk. "you want _respect_ from _us?_ Are you f-cking with me? The only thing you deserve from us is a couple of punches"

"Beckett, I see you haven't taken my advice" he mused, not affected at all

"and what's that?"

"to follow in your dear friend, Lucas's footsteps"

" _don't you dare_ " she hissed, face flushing in anger, she advanced to him and Mark and I grabbed her arm "Lore, stop, he's not worth it" I whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down

" _yes,_ he is" she answered, shaking her head adamantly. Her face red in anger and her eyes glinting with fierce hatred

"Lore, what are you gonna do, beat him up again? That won't do shit" reasoned Mark

"it will make me feel better, and him feel like shit, what's so bad about that?"

"aww, if Beckett wants to beat me up, let her" Dallas laughed

"shut the F-CK UP!" screamed Anna in anger, advancing in anger, she pulled out her wand and whipped it to his neck before anyone could stop her. She was shaking, in anger, or fear, I am not sure. Probably the former, it didn't waver her though, and her eyes blazed with hatred, so different from the usual aura of love she emitted

"I didn't get a chance to kick your arse last time Dallas, and I sincerely regret it" she hissed, pressing her wand further into his slimy throat " _don't_ think I won't this time. You hurt my friends, and disrespected me. Now, I really don't care about what you think of me. Your opinions have no worth to me. But you _hurt my friends._ And I _know_ you know what happens to someone who insults one of us" she whispered, I swear I saw him gulp. Anne really was a devil in the costume of an angel.

"you wouldn't dare, Peyton" he tried, clearing his throat to stop his voice from squeaking

"you _underestimate_ me" was all she said, before getting ready to hex him, Mark stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder, while I held Lore back. I am not sure why we are calming them down. That b-stard deserves whatever they give him

"Annie, come on, he's not worth it. Put the wand down" he told her

"yeah _Annie,_ listen to your _boyfriend_ " Dallas sneered

"shut the f-ck up, Dallas" Mark glared, his voice deathly low. Wow, my friends are bad ass

"Anna, leave him" he repeated, she looked at him, and back at Dallas, before sighing and lowering her wand

"stay away from my friends" she warned, before walking away. But Lore and I noticed her subtly flicking her wand

"what spell?" Lore asked simply, as we walked towards the dorm

"lets just say this. Nothing he will notice straight away" she smirked. I grinned, exchanging a look with Lorelai. I love these girls.

LORELAI'S POV:

the great thing about Ilvermorny was we weren't arranged in dorm's according to our houses. In first year, we were arranged separately. The girls had about five dorms, 1.1B, 1.2B. 1.3B, 1.4B and 1.5B, and the boys had five too, which were A. Then, as we made friends, as long as two girls agreed, we were allowed to switch dorms. That's why after the first week at Ilvermorny Gwen moved into 1.1B and shared it with An, Emma, S and I. Poor Marls didn't have room, but after the third week, I woke up to her levitating her bed from 1.4B to our dorm, stating that she wasn't going to share a dorm with 'brain numbing bimbos for seven years'

and so our dorm had six beds pushed together. It was more squashed than others, but we loved it.

"you lot didn't get rid of our beds!" An smiled emotionally

"don't look at me. It was that emotional weirdo over there" Marls shrugged, pointing at S

"forgive me for having feelings" S glared, joking

"forgiven" Mars smirked, unaffected

"not everyone is an emotionless void like you, Vance"

"and that's why I am superior to all humans" she answered, falling onto her bed

"if that's what helps you sleep"

"I don't wanna pack" groaned Gwen, dropping onto her bed she turned to where S was standing and pouted, making big eyes "S, pleasseee pack for me. You are the bestest and I love you and I mean you are just so great and beautiful, I mean, _those_ eyes. Magnificent. You are the greatest and I worship you. I wanna be your best friend forever-" she begged until S cut her off

"nice try Gigi, thanks for the compliments. But you are packing your own sh-t"

"I take everything I just said back" Gwen glared, before turning to Anna "Anna, pleasseeee pack for me. You are the bestest and I love you and I mean you are just so great and beautiful. I mean, those _eyes._ Magnificent. You are the greatest and I worship you. I wanna be your best friend forever-"

"nice try Gwen. But you shoulda tried changing it up a bit" laughed Anna, settling on her own bed

as a last resort Gwen turned to me "Lore, pleasseeee pack for me. You are the bestest-"

"Chase, you are f-cking pathetic" I informed her

"so you'll do it?" she asked hopefully

in response, I picked up a dirty shirt of her and skilfully aimed it at her face "pack your own sh-t"

"I can't believe I was _happy_ you two came" she grumbled, giving up and packing

"Love ya too Gwen" An laughed, relaxing herself onto the bed. Merlin, this place had way better beds than Hoggy

"well, while you all pack, suckers, Ann and I are going to go surprise Gem" I told them all, sticking my tongue out as Marls threw a pillow at me for my little comment

"oohhh, I wanna come, I miss Gemma!" Gwen grinned

"miss Gemma, or wanna miss packing?" I smirked, causing her to glare at me

"Gwen. Pack, you bint" Sienna commanded. Laughing, Anna and I headed out of 6.1B and towards 3.3B, Gemma's dorm.

"hey mini Bishop" I smirked, leaning against the dorm door as Gemma and her dormies ran around the room,

"Lore?!" squealed Gemma, running to hug me as she was dressed in an over sized t shirt and no pants

"nice look" I teased

"oh yeah" she frowned, looking at her outfit "Harriet packed all my trousers, the idiot" she grumbled

"and you forgot all about accio?"

"nope. It's just surprisingly comfy" she grinned brightly, bouncing to her trunk and pulling on some jeans

"I am sure Luke's totally _not_ freaking out from heaven" I smirked sarcastically

"of course not" she answered "so what are you doing?"

"visiting our friends. They are packing right now" I explained, and that's when Gem noticed AN

"ANNIE!" she squealed, throwing her arms around my best friend

"hey Gem" chuckled Anna. They may not be as close I was to them, but Anna always had a soft spot for the spunky blonde

"I missed you! Wait!" Gem gasped "is Finn and Mark here?!"

"yup. They are in the boys dorm" I informed her

"OHMYGOSH! WE GOTTA GO VISIT!" she screamed, grabbing both me and Anna and running to boys section.

"slow down" I laughed

she didn't answer, or slow down, and barged into 6.3A

"MARK! FINN!" she squealed, running to hug the two boys who were playing thumb war on a bed, not caring about all the other boys in the room

"Gemma!" they grinned, pulling her into a tight hug and ruffling her hair in affection. Finn and Mark loved Gemma, and protected her like a sister, something that annoyed her greatly "isn't Luke enough?" she would grumble

"how you doing blondie?" Finn asked, before glaring at Jared, one of the boys in the other dorm who was hanging with them, they weren't close, but Jared was cool and hung out sometimes with us

"stop eying her, you perv" he growled, causing Jared to blush and mutter unintelligently, I flicked his head for good measure before heading to the bed

"How long are you all here for?" Gemma asked, practically bouncing in excitement

"we are in America for the month" I explained

"brilliant! I gotta take you and An shopping! I found this great heel shop!"

this statement made me grimace, An grin and Finn pout

"what about Mark and I?" he pouted "personally, I think I would look _great_ in some pink stilettos, what do you think Marky?"

"I think red is more of your colour" Mark contemplated

"you would look _hot_ in orange" Finn commented

"green is definitely _not_ your colour" Mark observed

"b-tch. Take that back. I could rock any colour" threatened Finn

"you two are so dumb, it hurts" laughed Anna, flicking their heads

"thank you" they chorused

"


	15. Chapter 15

ANNA'S POV

"-it won't look 'cool' when I shove it so far up your f-cking arse you need a f-cking surgery to get it out!"

lovely way to enter your best friends apartment and help them set up, isn't it?

"what's going on?" I sighed, setting one of the boxes I had just brought up in the corner. I honestly had no idea why Finn and Lore were moving in together, they fought so fricken much, I would be surprised if they got through the first hour without injuring each other.

"tell Finn to stop being an ass" glared Lore, plopping herself on a box next to me

"tell Lorelai to stop being so pompous" Finn glared back, ams crossed

"wow, big word. How long did it take you to learn it?" sarcastically spat Lorelai

sighing I got up, and walked to the front door, ignoring their questioning looks, I shouted down the hallway "MARRRKK!"

"WHATT?" he screamed up the staircase, ignoring the angry neighbors. Hey, it's Finn and Lore's apartment, right? They gotta get used to the noise somehow

"IT'S YOUR TURN!" yup, we had taken it upon ourself to divide who would deal with our idiot friends.

Stomping up the stairs, Mark entered the flat, box in hand, he dumped them next to the one I brought up and sighed

"Lorelai. Finn. Hug." he commanded

"wow, that's gonna work" I muttered, amused, he just rolled his eyes in response, agitated by their stubbornness

"no, I don't wanna get mad cow" Finn protested

"you can't get it, you already have rabies" Lore shot back

"why are you two fighting, anyways?" Mark asked, stupid. I didn't have time to glare at him for setting those two off, as they were already at it

"Finn is a f-cking idiot-"

"Lore's got a stick up her a-se-"

"who the hell wants a disco freaking-"

" _excuse me,_ a disco ball in the living room is a bloody great-"

"greatly _stupid-_ "

"better than you wanting white fur carpets, like who the f-ck thinks about that? What are you, eighty?!-"

"better than being colour blind! When are you going to f-cking admit that the curtains are fricken blue!"

"for the last f-cking time Beckett, they are f-cking grey! Stop f-cking around!"

"they are f-cking blue, you twatwaffle!"

"GUYS!" shouted Mark, losing his cool, he walked over to the middle of the room, and pointing at Lorelai " _you_ apologise to Finn and hug him" he then turned to Finn "and you apologise to Lorelai and hug her"

"what are we twelve?" they both asked in unison, before glaring at each other again

"yes" decided Mark, taking a seat next to me, I patted his shoulder in a comforting manner as he massaged his forehead

"I don't wanna hug that witch" Finn protested

"and I don't fancy hugging Satan's spawn" replied Lore

"he's not asking you to hug yourself"

"f-cking hug each other, will you?!" exploded Mark.

Continuing to glare at each, they reached out and hugged each other awkwardly.

"now, what is going on. Lore, you first" I took over, feeling bad for Mark, Finn looked ready to argue, but I silenced him with a glare. And a flick of a wand. Don't judge, you would too.

"Finn wants to put a fricken disco ball in the living room"

"Finn, is this true?" I asked slowly, as if talking to a two year old, as I un silenced him

"yes" he sighed reluctantly

"and why do you want a disco ball in the living room?"

"because he's a f-cking idiot" muttered Lorelai, causing Finn to glare at her.

"she spoke out of turn!" he whined, pouting at me "tell her off!"

"Lorelai, don't speak out of turn" I deadpanned

"why didn't she get silenced?!"

"oh for f-ck sake" I sighed, before turning to Mark

"I can't" was all I spoke, sitting back down. He looked torn between crying and laughing, and spoke calmly, his voice shaking from laughter. I hope.

"Finn. Lorelai. Go to your rooms."

"what?! no-" they began to protest

"now" he glared, pouting, they both stomped into their semi complete rooms.

"Merlin, where did we go wrong?" I chuckled, leaning my head on his shoulder

'we didn't do anything. It's society" tuttered Mark, causing me to giggle

"they make me never want kids"

"I don't think it's possible for you to reproduce something like them"

"I bloody well hope not" I yawned, closing my eyes

MARK'S POV

"I can't believe we fell asleep on a bloody box" I groaned, shoulder hurting

"it's the kids, I am telling you, they knacker you out" joked Anna

"true, should we go make sure they haven't killed each other?"

"that's the wise thing, huh?" sighed Anna, getting up and skipping towards their rooms, merlin, where does she get her energy from?

"-f-ck off West! I am going to murder you!" screamed Lorelai.

We glanced at each other, exasperated and ran to Lore's bedroom

what we saw next was definitely not what we expected, Lore was on the floor, pinned down by Finn who was tickling her as she kicked him in anger, laughing

"what the hell?" I asked

"this arsehole decided to burp in my ear" Lorelai glared

"only because she stole my snitch!"

"you two are mental" I sighed, sitting on the floor next to them

"thank you" they grinned, all previous anger forgotten.

Mental, I tell you.

"I am scared of leaving you two alone together, you are going to end up murdering each other" Anna sighed, plopping herself in the middle of the room next to them

Lore glanced at Finn, and thoughtfully answered"nah, he's not worth Azkaban"

"yeah, I don't wanna waste my life rotting away for killing her, no matter how great it would be" agreed Finn

"you two love each other" I said, not that they would ever admit it.

"yeah, when hell freezes over" snorted Lore, but regardless, she allowed Finn to swing an arm around her shoulder

"we should get unpacking if you two wanna sleep here tonight" we had only been back in England for two days, but Finn and Lore were adamant on sleeping in their own flat, even though Ginny insisted that they could stay with her

"nooo" moaned Lore, hiding her head in Finn's shoulder as protection

"Lore, this is your f-cking house, get your sh-t together and help me" Anna glared, grabbing a box and helping Lore unpack.

I have to say, out of all the apartment, Lore's room was definitely my favourite, the floor was completely wooden, with white walls, a wooden king size bed in the centre, a writing desk in the corner, her cupboard and dressing table next to each other, but my favourite thing was her window view, the left wall was a floor to ceiling window, with a spectacular view of the village behind them.

"fineee" groaned Lore, standing up and beginning to open a box full of photos and paste them on the wall on which the desk and bed leaned against, her plan was to cover the wall with photo's completely.

"come on Finn, lets go start on your room" I yawned, getting up

"finnee" he sighed, exiting the room.

FINN'S POV;

"I bloody hate unpacking" I sighed, as I took all my clothes out of boxes and hung them up. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, Mark got stuck with bed making, sucker.

"it's your apartment, take some pride, you idiot" Mark replied, tucking the sheets in.

"bloody hell, that sounds weird" I commented, taking out my jeans and folding them. All hail Finn, the mighty folder. Seriously, my jeans looked great, I should go pro.

"your apartment? I know right, I mean, last summer you couldn't even keep your goldfish alive"

"Bobbafett committed suicide, I had nothing to do with it" I explained adamantly, I treated that fish like it was a queen, or king. I never worked out it's gender. Do fish have genders?

"with a name like that, do you blame it?" commented Lorelai, walking into my room with Anna, and seating herself on the freshly made bed

"HEY! I just made that Beckett!" groaned Mark, looking at the creases now forming

"and you did a mighty good job" smirked Lore

"I hate you"

"I know"

"you have done unpacking? How?" I asked, surprised, it had been about an hour

"magic" she grinned, twirling her wand in her fingers

"oh yeah!" I remembered, taking out my wand and flicking it at my suitcase, the clothes wriggled a bit but then lay down, pathetically

"great" I groaned, returning to the manual way.

"you are really sh-t at spells" laughed Lorelai

"well, not everyone practices household spells in their free time" I snapped, throwing a pair of folded jeans at her

she caught them easily and tossed them back "jokes on you, you gotta refold them, _manually_ "

I gave her the finger and continued folding

"you know what this apartment would be great for?" Mark asked suddenly, examining the walls

"what?" Lore asked, flopping down onto _my_ bed, I am so going to go screw up her pictures later as payback.

"parties. I mean think about it, you have that massive living a room, a splendid toilet for throwing up, and plenty of room, you should hold a housewarming party"

"you know what would make it better?" I added, not waiting for a reply "a disco ball"

"oh f-ck off West" groaned Lorelai

"it's a damn good idea Beckett, stop kidding yourself"

"go to hell"

"Seeing as you're here, I thought I was already in it" I smirked

"would never dream of having the same place to live as you" she snipped, but frowning "... I can't use that one now, can I?"

"nope" Anna grinned

"damn it"

"so seriously guys, are you two going to have a housewarming party?"

"yeah, we are thinking about it, after you two set up your rooms, we can discuss" U shrugged, casually, as Lore smirked, waiting for a reaction

"our rooms?" Anna began slowly

"yeah, why do you think I got four rooms? Can't have you all so far away"

"OHMYGOSH!" squealed Anna, tackling me,

"thank you!"

"no problem, shortie" I laughed, ruffling her hair

"thanks guys" smiled Mark, as Anna tackled Lore

"don't mention it, I mean, you are probably doing me a favour, merlin knows I could never survive in a house with that idiot" Lore smirked, pointing over to me, I gave her the finger and she pulled a tongue at me

"lets go set up our rooms!" Anna grinned, grabbing Mark's arm and apparating. To what I assumed was the Potters

"and then there were two" I commented

"yeah, come on West, I will help you and put you out your misery" Lore answered, getting up and folding my jeans while I hung my tops

Lore's POV:

"we did it" I sighed, dropping on the couch next to Finn and sticking my legs on his lap

"I am so bloody tired" yawned Mark, resting his head against the sofa's corner

"me too" Anna complained, lying on the floor and using Mark's lap as a pillow

"no" Finn suddenly shouted, getting up, causing my feet to drop on Mark's face

"ouch!" he groaned

"sorry! Blame Finn!" I answered, sitting up

"West, what the f-ck?"

"no!" he repeated, ignoring our complains "we are young, hip teenagers, we just got our own apartment-"

"-technically you and Lore got your own apartment" Anna cut in

"-shhhh" he hushed, continuing with his speech "we are independent! This used to be all we thought- all we _dreamed_ about. We should be celebrating, partying! Not complaining like a bunch of old grandmas about our backs!"

"come to think about it, my back _does_ feel kinda sore" Anna mused, winking at me as I sniffled a giggle

"guys!" he whined childishly, stomping his foot

"sorry" giggled Anna "what do you wanna do to celebrate?"

"lets go bar hopping!" he grinned excitedly

"I dunno Finn..." hesitated Mark, while I shrugged, it actually sounded pretty fun

"come on! It will be like old times! Remember? We used to be so much fun! What the hell happened? Remember Lore? We used to feel weird if we didn't get drunk once a week! There was a time were we couldn't sleep on a Sunday without a headache! Remember?"

he got me there, and I actually felt excited, so joined him in his spot, towering over our hesitate friends "West is right" I began, before pausing and frowning in disgust " _wow,_ that sounded wrong" I shuddered "anyways. West is.. not incorrect? We haven't gone to a bar in London since we arrived! We used to dream about bar hopping in diagon alley! The Weasley and Potters are gonna begin to think we were lying when we tell them what we used to do!"

we seemed to have won Mark, because he shrugged "I am in"

"great!" I grinned, before we all turned to look at An expectantly.

"fine" she sighed "but I ain't cleaning no ones vomit"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

*a month and a half later*

LORELAI'S POV:

"we did it!" shouted Mark, bursting into the room An and I were sharing at the Potters

"what?" screamed Anna, shocked

'MARK AND I DID IT! WE GOT IN! YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE RESERVE BEATERS FOR TUTSHILL!" Finn grinned, pulling us both out of bed and into a hug, which Mark soon joined

'YOU DID?! THAT'S F-CKING AMAZING GUYS! OH MY MERLIN!" Anna grinned, jumping up and down in excitement

"what's going on?" asked a sleepy Lily, leaning against Albus for support

"THEY GOT IN! THEY F-CKING DID IT!" I screamed, so happy for my two idiots

"into Tutshill?" James asked, in pure disbelief

"THAT'S RIGHT POTTER!" Mark grinned, man-hugging James

James grinned "congrats mate!"

"yeah, congrats guys!" Albus congratulated, while Lily settled on waving happily, too tired to speak

"wait" I paused

"oh come on Lore! Let's celebrate!" groaned Finn

"but. What does this mean, if you are selected _now_ how are you going to come back to Hogwarts?"

at this, the exchanged nervous looks "Lore's right... how will you lot?" Anna asked nervously

"we won't" Mark answered honestly

I swear on everything holy, Anna's face turned blue

"you aren't going back to school?" she repeated, shocked

"nope" Finn said, looking _very_ afraid he hid behind Mark, Mark glared at him, pushing him forward and then proceeded to hid behind him. Mature guys, really.

Three.

Two.

One.

"are you crazy?!" exploded Anna, looking very similar to an angry veela. Is this how Dom's mom looked when she was pissed? Merlin, was I feeling sorry for Bill.

"Anna-" I tried, but she ignored me, so I skilfully shut up, giving the boys a clear 'you're-on-your-own' look, they glared at me, but then fearfully glanced at Anna.

I stepped out of shooting range, just in case Anna went rogue and listening as she continued

"you need an education!" she ranted "YOU NEED TO GET YOUR NEWTS! YOU NEED QUALIFICATIONS. WE ARE GOING TO LEARN SO MUCH THIS YEAR, HOW TO MAKE THE DOREEN POTION, AND CAST THE EMPERE SPELL!"

"Anne, I doubt Tutshill cares if we can cast a Empe- what ever spell. We will have the job, we don't need anything else" Finn rushed, trying to get a word in

she inhaled sharply "and what happens when you fail?"

wrong move An. Even _I_ know that.

"seriously?" Finn laughed, bitterly "that's what you think? That we are going to fail? Merlin An's, do you have _any_ faith in me? I am sorry I am not as smart as you are. But that doesn't mean I am a pile of shit, you know that, don't you?"

"I didn-" backtracked Anna, realising her mistake

"No, Anna. Don't. Okay? I am sick of this. I am sick of you acting like you are better than us, because you are smarter, and get good grades. Yeah, I don't know the properties of mandrake, but that doesn't mean I have a doomed future. Okay"

"I kn-"

"leave it" he spoke sharply, storming out, Anna stared at the door, in shock, before letting out a whimper, I sighed and pulled her into a hug

"I did- didn't mean that!" she sniffed

"I know, Ans" I whispered

"I didn't! I swear. Finn's amazing, I know that, I can't believe he said that. And he's right! I do come across like that! He hates me. And has every right to. I am a horrible human being"

I sighed, letting her go "Anna. That's enough. Okay, yes, you shouldn't have said those things. It was wrong and unfair, but wallowing in self pity won't do jack. Go apologise and fix this"

"he won't wanna talk to me" she sniffled

"yes. He will. Finn loves you" Mark answered firmly, from his spot next to the door

"oh Mark!" wailed Anna, pulling him into a hug "I am so sorry! I really dno't think that about you. You are so talented and amazing! I don't think you will fail. Please don't hate me"

Mark seemed hesitant for a minute, but then sighed and hugged her "Annie. I know you don't. It's just you come across like that sometimes. I get it, it's not your fault. I love you"

"I love you too"

"I am going to talk to West" I whispered to Mark, as I passed him, clapping his shoulder, he nodded, still holding Anna, and whispered "they are such drama queens"

I smiled slightly and nodded in agreement

777777777777777777777777777777

"hey jackass" I greeted, stepping onto the Potter's pitch

"is it just me, or are your greetings becoming ruder day by day?" he asked, glancing upwards

"you made Anna feel really bad" I informed him, taking a seat next to him on the swing

"I know. I will apologise. I just got mad"

"and you had every right to be" I agreed "but Finn.. she does this out of love. I am not justifying her actions or anything, but you know she does"

"I know she does. It's just.. I already have my father telling me I won't succeed. And to have AN, my _best friend_ say it. It makes it worse"

"Finn. You _can_ do it. It doesn't matter who says you can't. Even if I said you can't, or Mark did, or McGonagall. Who gives a f-ck about what we think? You _got in. you_ did. You got into tutshill, if that's not proof that you can do it, what is? Don't care about what Anna said"

"she's right. I am an idiot" Anna whispered, leaning against Mark, tear stains round her rosy cheeks

"oh thank Merlin" I muttered, standing up and pointing at FInn both "you are an ass. You need to stop taking everything so seriously, have faith in yourself, and stop holding everything in and blowing up at the wrong people" he opened his mouth to complain, but I had already turned my finger to Anna "and _you,_ need to stop micro managing, have faith in your friends, and stop telling them what to do"

with that, I grabbed Mark and pulled him with me "I love you both. But sort your own shit up."

and with that, I pulled Mark along with me and left those idiots to work everything out.

Marks POV:

"Merlin, they are screwed up" I sighed as we walked away

"you just working that out?" she snorted, kicking a stone with her boots

I shrugged "that's true"

"congrats, by the way" she added, looking at the pavement  
"on the whole tutshill thing. It's really impressive. I mean, you were a great player, _are_ I mean, are, you aren't dead. Obviously, you wouldn't have the position if you were dead.." I stared at her incredulously, and then bursted into a fit of laughter,

"come here, my little emotionally stunted weirdo" I chuckled, pulling her into a side hug, she punched me lightly

she snorted again "seriously? Emotionally stunted weirdo? Great confidence boost."

"You love me" I answered

crinkling her nose, she frowned"not really"

"you're gonna miss me" I insisted, she pinched her fingers together, leaving a centimeter gap

"maybe this much"

"seriously? That much. That makes me feel so much better"

"I am going to miss you, Mark" she whispered quietly into my shoulder, wrapping her skinny arms around me

"back at ya, Red" I answered, hugging her tightly.

5555555555555

Finn's POV:

"I am sorry. I was such an idiot, Finn! I understand if you hate me and never want to talk to me. I am a horrible person and I totally deserve anything you want to do. If you wanna punch me, go for it, granted it will hurt like hell seeing as you are a beater and all-" Anna ranted, flustered

"Anna. Shut up" I told her, amused

"oh. You are getting ready to hit me, aren't you? You want me quite so you can focus your aim. I get that. Cool"

"do you really think I would hit a girl?" I asked, mock offended

"I was a b-tch, though"

"yeah, you were" I shrugged, teasing her "but it's okay. I get it. You are just worried, I shouldn't of shouted at you. We were both stupid"

"you had every right to shout, Finn" Anna protested

"Annie, we can go on all day about who had the right to do what, and who made what mistake, let's just hug and be okay, okay? I wanna celebrate and spend time with my two favourite girls before everything changes"

she looked at me, unsure, before cautiously stepping forward and hugging her

"promise me that nothing will change _too_ much" she whispered in my t shirt

"promise" I laughed, hugging her tighter. Merlin, was I going to miss these girls.

"CONGRATULATION FINN AND MARK!" screamed the Wotters as the four of us stepped into the Potter's kitchjen

"did we already win a match?" Mark laughed, hugging Ginny, who was closest

"no! But we are so proud of you boys! This is massive!" Ginny smiled, hugging me

"yeah, not even Gin got accepted to a team at sixteen" Ron smirked, wine in hand. Now, it's a party.

"I think that had something to do with the fact that you three idiots were on the run, and left Hogwarts in a dump" she glared, hitting her brothers shoulder

Thoughtfully ,Ron shrugged 'hmm.. I doubt it"

leaving Ginny to kill Ron, Mark and I made the rounds, thanking everyone and making fun of Lucy's hair

"you look like a unicorn" I teased, her hair was dyed pastel pink, blue and purple streaks. She looked cool, but I would never admit it.

"and you still look like you're a five year old" she smirked, unaffected

I gasped, offended "take that back Weasley!"

"sorry West, my mum brought me up to tell the truth" she shrugged, walking away

"that girls going places" I laughed to Mark

"definitely. Now, come on, lets go celebrate us"

I was definitely not going to say no to that.

ANNA'S POV

"let's go celebrate" Lore grinned, us kids were all in James's room, while the adults cleaned up, apparently we 'got in the way', translation: Ginny was sick of Fred and James dung bombing everything.

"we just celebrated" I pointed out

"yeah, but that was the lame adult, non alcoholic party" Lore explained, as if it was obvious

"oh sorry, how stupid of me" I deadpanned

she ignored me, and focused on the rest of the group

"you all up for a night out in the town?"

"we're not seventeen yet" James pointed out

"so? I am, so is Finn, and Dom, we can get you all in" shrugged Lorelai

"ummm..." Rox thought

"come on! It's fun!" Finn grinned

"fine. But none of the youngies" Rox agreed, sighing

"what?" Albus protested

"no, Albus" Rox spoke firmly

"that's so not fair" he pouted

"Al, mate, you are kinda proving how young you are" laughed Mark

"piss off Haywood"

"to a bar? Sure"

"arse"

I held in a laugh "Mark, stop messing with AL"

"finnneee"

"apologise" I commanded, smirking

he groaned, exaggeratedly, and turned to Albus "I am sorry you are a tiny twerp and can't come clubbing with the cool kids"

"Mark!" I groaned, hitting his head, he chuckled, and ducked

"what? I said "I said sorry!"

"you're an idiot" I answered, sighing.


	17. Chapter 17

AUTHORS NOTE;

chapter seventeen! I am starting to wind up the story, and I really hope everyone is enjoying it! Please review to let me know what you all think!

LORELAI'S POV  
"tell me this isn't so weird" I moaned one Friday afternoon. It was our second week of seventh year, and our second week without my boys. Merlin, was it odd not to have them running around with fake swords, hitting each other, or something.

"What isn't?" Anna answered, lying on her bed, hair in a pony, as she read on her stomach, feet in the air

"the boys not being here!" I exclaimed, sitting upright on my bed, red hair in a bun, it was so hot.

"yeah. I guess it is." she muttered, absorbed in her book

I threw a perfectly aimed pillow at her face, and she glared at me

"you are ignoring me" I stated, child like.

"lovely" she glared, tossing the pillow back and continuing with her book. Witch.

I threw the pillow again, this time, she closed the book and threw it at my stomach.

"-the f-ck?!" I swore, dodging a sixth edition DADA book.

"you're f-cking annoying" she stated, grinning cheekily.

I picked up a bauble left over from.. I have no idea, and threw it at her shoulder.

Yes. We do care about each other.

Five minutes later, it had turned into a full fledged pillow fight, we were transforming pillows left, right and centre. And had forts.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" screamed Rox as she entered the dorm with Dom and Sel and saw the mess.

An and I stopped, grinned at each other, and bombarding Roxy with pillows, causing her to cough violently as feathers flew everyone. Dom and Sel, smart girls, moved away from us.

"what are you two doing?" laughed Sel as she watched her friend get attacked with pillows.

"playing" we shrugged, laughing

"you are crazy" chuckled Dom

"have you ever had a full fledged, every-women-for-themselves pillow fight?" I asked

"nope"

"then don't judge us, join us."

Dom stood there, contemplating her life, before shrugging and grabbing a pillow, followed by Selena.

I love these crazy girls.

FINN'S POV:

"tell me this isn't weird" sighed Mark, crashing on the couch next to mine

"what isn't?" I asked, eyes still closed,

" _not_ having Lore take the sh-t outta us and have Anna be momma bear"

"it is pretty weird" I agreed, yawning. It was four in the afternoon, and Mark and just got home from an eight hour practice, and were sore as f-ck

"at least Hogsmede is next week, we can visit them then" Mark reminded

"oh yeah. Sh-t, can we make it? Don't we have practice next saturday?"

"we will have to bunk it. We promised the girls, Anna is looking forward to it. Hell, even Lore seemed excited"

"can we bunk practice?" I mused, resting my feet on the glass table in front of me

"we will find out next week I guess" he shrugged, massaging his shoulder

"Merlin, I am so f-cking sore. when did we become so sore dude?" I groaned, putting some ice on a nasty bump on my leg

"Godric knows. I feel like going into a coma for about a year"

"should we give the girls a ring?" I yawned, reaching out for my Witch mirror

"go for it" he shrugged, getting up to sit next to me so we can both see.

After a couple of rings, Lore picked up

"hey Becks, wheres Lore?" I greeted, she looked pretty tired, her red locks were pulled into a messy bun,with strands of her hair falling onto her face, and she was dressed in an oversize t shirt which used to be mine

"yeah, one sec" she replied "Oi! ANNA! GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE!"

"ONE SEC!" she screamed back

"she's on her way" Lore informed her, resting the mirror against her books

"you look like sh-t" I told her, smirking

"and you are sh-t" she retorted

"thanks" I grinned

"NEWTS are going to be the death of me" she sighed, resting her head on the desk

"thank Merlin we don't have to sit them" Mark agreed

"you lot should we counting your lucky stars. I swear, it's like these professors want us dead. I don't remember it being so hard in Ilvermorny, didn't Hannah Johnson party all the time?"

"Hannah Johnson had a fat ass trust fund waiting for her when she turned seventeen also" Mark reminded her

"oh yeah" Lore groaned "damn my parents"

"amen to that" commented Anna, joining Lore

"Anna banana!" I grinned

"hey Finn, hey Mark" she smiled, running a hand through her blonde shoulder length pony

"you free?" Mark asked, noticing all the books in her hands

"sorry, I got class" she apologised, fixing her blue t shirt underneath her robes

"that's a matter of debate" smirked Lore, grinning up at her best friend

"nice one" Anna smiled, hitting Lorelai's head and waving a quick bye

"how come you are being a lazy arse? Don't you have class?" I teased, Lore gave me the finger and responded

"nah, Annie took advanced Astronomy, Merlin knows why, so I got a free while shes slaving over the stars"

"wow, we are friends with a nerd" I sighed, shaking in my head in a ashamed manner

'so how was practice?" she asked, yawning again

"bloody long" I answered

"but fun?" she smirked

"yeah" I agreed "amazing"

"good. I am glad you lot are enjoying it. Whens the first match?"

"in a month. You and Anna going to be able to make it down?" Mark informed her

"Definitely! Like I am going to miss a chance to watch my boys play their first match!"

"there is a slim chance that we will actually play" Mark warned

"pish posh, mere details my friend"

"mere details?" repeated Mark, amused

'yeah. I am sure if Finn can harm a beater while he's _not_ on the team, he can do it while he is"

"it was one time!" I protested

"oh. Yeah. One time, that makes it totally okay" she responded sarcastically

"it wasn't even my fault! The beater shouldn't of come in my range of popcorn fire"

"yeah. Instead, he should of let a rogue bludger wipe out half the crowd" Lorelai teased

"I-you- f-ck off" I sighed, accepting defeat.

"nice one' she snorted

"oh, Lore" suddenly spoke Mark "can I send Sky some tickets to our match in America in six months?"

"umm.. I suppose, why?" Lore asked, confused

"she sent me a letter the other day, and I thought it might be nice"

"Sky talks to you?" she asked, shocked

"yeah, she and I send letters occasionally. I think she's bored"

"what? When was the last time she sent you a letter?" she exclaimed, raising her head

"mm.. yesterday?"

"that brat! She still hasn't replied to the letter I sent a week ago!" she replied as she shifted through some papers

"umm.. Lore? Whatcha doing?" I asked, cautiously

"writing to my dear sister and telling her I ain't getting her no christmas present. Traitor"

"did your mother drop you on the head as a child?" I deadpanned, amused

"no. because that would mean that Amanda Beckett would of actually come in a mile radius of her infant children" Lorelai quipped back instantaneously

"my mistake" I grinned

"done!" Lorelai exclaimed, lifting her quill with a flourish

"what did you write, anyways?" Mark asked curiously

"oh. Dear Skylar,

TRAITOR.

Love, Lorelai" she read out, showing us the paper, sure enough, the word 'traitor' was in bubble, capital writing and underlined about ten times

"mature' I smirked

"this coming from the guy who made a first year cry after they took the last lollipop at Halloween" she retorted immediately. It scared me how my friends had the ability to throw a stupid thing I had done back at me in seconds.

"she's got you there" Mark smirked, I shoved him and winced as my arm ached. Bloody bludgers.

"anyways, I gotta finish this essay for Flitwick, talk to you guys later"

after saying our goodbyes, Lorelai hung up, and Mark and I resumed wallowing in our pain.

Festive.

ANNA'S POV:

"Anna"

 _Amortentia has a-_

"Annnnaaaa"

 _distinct mother of pearl-_

"ANNNIEEEEE _"_

 _sheen-_

"ANNA CYTHINIA PEYTON! _"_

"you do realise that's not my middle name? _"_ I asked, genuinely concerned that my best friend didn't

"details" she waved off "the important thing was that you were ignoring me. What if i had something important to say?"

" _did_ you have something important to say?" I responded

"Yes" she answered, indignantly

I raised my eyebrow in response "continue"

"hi" she grinned sheepishly, burying her laugh in her pillow

"you are crazy" I sighed, returning to my essay as I lay on my stomach, feet in the arm

"you are mean. All I wanted to do was say hi to my bestest friend and remind her that she is amazing and I love her and I think she's cool despite the fact she still dresses like an eighty year old-"

"are you drunk?" I cut her off, looking up in amusement

"what?! No!"

"then?"

"I had two hours sleep last night" she admitted sheepishly

"and coffee?"

"only one cup"

"plus?"

"one"

"times?"

"four"

"you had eight cups of coffee?" I checked

"yeah"

"you are crazy" I sighed, shaking my head

"thank you"

I rolled my eyes, amused and returned to my essay. After five minutes, Lorelai whispered

"Annie?"

"yes?"

"I don't feel good"

"go to sleep Lore" I sighed

"okay" she agreed, lying down on her pillow and curling up in a ball.

I smiled and went back to writing

after finishing my essay, I rolled out of bed and checked on Lore, she was still asleep, and looked a bit cold, even though it was summer, so I put a light blanket on her and headed down into the common room.

"hey Anna, where's Lore?" Rox asked as I seated myself next to Rose and Fred, everyone of the Wotter's besides James and Dom were in the common room.

"Asleep, where's Dom and James?"

"Dom's practicing DADA" Replied Rose, not lifting her face from the book she was reading

'James?"

"Dom's practicing dummy" smirked Fred, obviously amused by his cousins misfortune.

"why aren't you watching?"

"because Dom hexed me after I laughed to hard" he admitted, showing me a purple spot on his hand

"nice" I smirked

"and people think you are the nice one" he pouted,

"that's their fault" I replied, pinching his bloated cheeks

"so true" tutted Rox

"how's Lore anyways?, she looked bloody tired" commented ALbus

"she's fine, didn't sleep last night is all, I think she was up talking to Finn and then she had an essay or something. That girl has no concept of time management"

"have the umm.. nightmares stopped?" Sel asked, cautiously but genuinely concerned. I smiled slightly, ever since they found out about Luke you could see they genuinely cared about Lore and wanted to make sure she was okay, but didn't want to overstep.

"yeah, I think so, I guess they will never go completely, but she's gotten better" I answered

"good, that's good" Sel replied thoughtfully

'yeah, I think visiting Luke more is good for her, helps her and all that"

"he sounds like a really cool guy" Lily commented

"he was" I honestly answered, nostalgically

"Luke was amazing, he was so funny yet thoughtful, a real goof ball" I explained

"can you tell us about him?" Lily asked sheepishly

"umm sure" I answered, unsure. It was hard to describe someone like Luke. He was just... so Luke.

"he was super laid back, nothing annoyed him. But he was also f-cking loyal, screw with his loved ones and you were already dead. But the thing about him was he never hit, or got physical. He would do little things, that were innocent yet real funny. I remember once a boy called Lore a b-tch, so Luke followed him around for a whole month, summoning banana's in front of him so he tripped, it got old after about a week, to the point were only Lore and him would be laughing there arses off."

"he was just.. Luke. It was as simple as that. Friends with everyone. Even if you hated him, you had to respect him. He was truly selfless, the rest of us.. we always put ourselves first to some extent, not Luke. Luke would take an avada for a stranger"

"He was also really mischievous. He got this glint in his eyes, whenever he was about to do something, and giggled like a mad man." I sighed, lump in my throat "He was Luke. Fiercely loyal, immature as heck Lucas."

"he sounds really cool" smiled Lily sadly

"he was" I heard someone answer, surprised, I turned in the direction of the stairwell and saw Lore standing there, groggy from her afternoon nap, she pottered over to us and sat next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder

'hey Lore" I smiled nervously

"you telling them about Luke?" she asked, ignoring the silence and awkwardness

"yeah.."

"mind if I add in my own two cents?" she asked them

"after all, Annie is probably making the guy out to be a saint. Trust me, that weirdo was anything but" she grinned

"we would love to hear about him" Sel smiled

"right well. The best story I have got on the guy, that's age appropriate, of course, was when we were about thirteen. Ann and Mark went home, and Finn was dragged off the train by his dad. Anyways, about a week in, and Luke's family had gone to visit Emily's sister, Piper, Luke skipped out. Anyways, one day, I got into a super big fight with my mother and stormed out, so we decided to go down to New York to burn off steam. While we were there, we found out that our favourite band, Nights to Remember was performing there. We had no tickets, barely any cash on hand but we were idiots. So we snuck into the concert, somehow managed to not get caught for the whole concert, then we somehow, I can't remember how, we were piss drunk by then, but we obtained two back stage passes, and so snuck back stage to meet the members of the band, but they weren't there, so we decided to fill their room with blue and black balloons, confetti and ribbon. Literally, you couldn't move, and then we stole the lead singes mic for a souvenir and legged it. Almost got away too, if Luke wasn't giggling like a f-cking toddler. We got caught by the band and I was sure we would end up in jail, but Luke charmed the pants off the guitarist and she let us off"

I laughed at the story, it was so typically Luke, taking care of Lore, doing something reckless, being immature and then charming to get out of stuff.


	18. Chapter 18

FINN'S POV:

"ANNNAAA, HAVE YOU SEEN MY BLUE SWEATTTTERRRRR?"

"NO LORE, I HAVEN'T! F-CKING FIND YOUR OWN SH-T!"

"BUT I CAN'T FIND IT!"

I walked into their dorm, followed by Mark and saw a blue sweater on the floor, smirking, I tossed it on Lore's head

"this your sweater?" I smirked as they both turned around, shocked.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" Lore grinned, getting up to hug me as Mark hugged Anna.

"seriously, what are you two doing here? You have a match in like four hours" Ann repeated, wrapping her tiny hands around me

"we are picking you up!" Mark grinned "now, grab your sweater Lore, and lets get outta here, coach allowed us to spend time with our families before the match. We are taking you out for lunch"

"does McGonagall know?"

"course! She allowed us to Floo in! Now, c'me on!" I exclaimed, dragging the girls with my hands.

"so how are you guys going?" I asked as the waiter seated us in _Accio._

"good, just swamped with work, what about you guys? Nervous?" Lore asked us, tapping her wand on the glass and allowing it to fill with wine, she went to fill our cups, but I refused. Sadly.

"strict no alcohol rule" I sighed, upset

"seriously? For the whole season?" Lore asked, outraged

"nah, forty hours before each match. But even then we can only have alcohol after matches for parties. Gotta be super careful. Strict no drug policy for the whole season though"

"there goes our crack parties" Lore smirked, snapping her finger

"bummer" Ann dead panned, allowing Lore to fill her glass with wine.

"cheers" smirked Lore, purposely tapping Mark and I's water filled glasses .

"you witch" I glared

"sorry" she giggled "it's just so funny! Finn West, alcohol lover, in any form, can't have drinks" she chuckled, causing Anna to laugh too

"it's not funny!" I whined "I miss alcohol!"

"Finn, stop complaining mate, we are living our dream and playing Quidditch. Be grateful" Mark told me, hitting me upside the head

I chose a mature answer. I stuck my tongue at him.

"Mark, it's fine, he could be the richest, healthiest man alive and still find a way to complain" snorted Lore

I kicked her underneath the booth so she kicked me back. With heels.

"you are the devils reincarnation" I glared, nursing my knee

"Lore! Seriously! The bloke has a game in a couple of hours, don't kill him!" Anna scolded, taking her wand out and healing me.

"Why did I ever think I missed you?" I asked her

"because you did. I am the best damn thing that has happened to you West, and you know it" she shrugged

"sure" I snorted before the food came

ANNA'S POV:

"how long till you all have to be at the pitch?" I asked as we walked down the crowded streets of London, Mark and Finn were both wearing hoodies and trying to ignore the camera's flashing in their faces.

"you two haven't even played yet and they are treating you like royalty" Lore observed, glaring at a reporter who almost whacked her with his camera

"jealous?" smirked Finn, ruffling Lore's hair

"careful West, or I'll chuck you to those cameras" she warmed, pointing at the swarm of camera men behind us

"come on" Mark muttered, opening the door of a hotel and walking in

"welcome back, Mr Haywood, Mr West, your coach told me to inform you two boys that he wants you to stay inside now until the match takes place" greeted a short girl in a blazer, I assumed she was the managers assistant or something

"thank you Hannah" Mark smiled politely, taking off the hood and ruffling his hair

"you lot wanna check out our room?" Finn asked

"yeah, sure" I replied, excited. This was so cool!

"how come you lot are in a hotel? I thought there was a players house for the season?" Lorelai questioned.

There was? Wow, I should really learn some quidditch stuff seeing as my two best friends are about to become stars.

"yeah, but the coach wanted us close to the pitch in case the floo or apparition didn't work out. As you can work out, he's pretty paranoid. Plus, the paparazzi know about the houses location, I don't think they have all worked out we are staying here"

"what? As in the full Tutshill tornado team? As in Thomas Jackson, the youngest seeker in the league?" Lore asked slowly, processing this all.

"yup"

"HOLY SH-T! TAKE ME TO THEM!" Lore shouted, causing several old people to glare at her

"calm down first, I don't want you freaking out my team" Finn teased, purposely making poor Lorelai wait.

"West, if you know what's good for you, take me" she glared in response

"come on, they're in the common room" Mark grinned, putting her out her misery.

"I am going to meet Tutshill Tornados" Lore whispered, excited. She looked like a little girl on Christmas

"You've met them before" I pointed out

"one can never meet Tutshill Tornado too many times" she stated wisely

"Amen to that" Finn smirked

"real stars in the area!" Finn shouted out as he entered the common room

"we're already in here" smirked the teams first string beaters

"I have been in here for about an hour" Thomas answered at the same time, just as Kevin, the Keeper, said "been here since three"

I glanced around the room and noticed that Finn and Mark were the only back up players in the room

"where are all the other second string players?" I asked

"those arseholes? We got Norman to set up another common room for them. I swear I can't deal with those pricks before a match" Xavier answered, leaning back

"so why haven't you kicked Finn out?" Lore smirked

"trust me, Finn and Mark are the only two bearable players out of those idiots" Barry, Tutshills beater, informed her

"who the hell are you two, anyways?" asked the other beater, Zeke.

"yeah, Finn we told you too keep pap's out, I don't care how pretty they are" Kevin winked

"gross. Don't do that" Finn shuddered "they are our best friends, that's Anna and that's Lore, Tommy's number one fan" he smirked, causing Lore to glare at him

"nice to meet you two" Thomas smiled, ignoring Finn's last comment "you two play?"

"oh I don't. Lore does, though" I told him

"yeah, she's a better seeker than you Tommo" smirked Mark

"and hotter" smirked Xavier

"and that Xav, is why you are still single, perv" Jacqueline Ross answered, walking into the room even _I_ knew about Jacqueline, she was the only female on Tutshill, and one of the best chasers in the league

"hi Jackie, your niece finally let you leave?" Kevin greeted

"after I promised to buy her a pony. Dunno how pleased my sister in law will be" she shrugged, seating herself next to Mark

"Finn" she groaned, glancing at us "didn't we warn you not to bring pap's in here, no matter how pretty you find them"

"they aren't paps" Mark told her "they are our friends"

"why does everyone always assume its me?" Finn questioned

"because, Xav, Zeke, Tommo and Kevin have learnt their lesson after I hexed them, and the other boys are either engaged or got girlfriends and Mark's not a perv"

"thanks" Mark smirked at his friend

"so, you must be Lorelai and Anna? Finn and Mark have told us all about you" greeted Jac

"yeah, it's really nice to meet you" Lore smiled. Jac was also Lore's idol

"let me congratulate you for sticking around with these pricks for six years. I really want to kill them and it's been about two months"

"being friends with them is like marriage. The first year is the hardest" I deadpanned

"i hope so" laughed Jac, "you two sit!" she suddenly spoke

"boys, don't you have any manners?! They have been standing for ages!" she scolded, whacking Mark who was closest

"they coulda sat down" he muttered, nursing his arm

"well, they didn't" she shot back, angrily

"sorry mom" he sarcastically responded

"don't be an arse Haywood" I scolded, flicking his ear

"great, just what I needed, _another mom_ "

"you love me, really _"_ I sung, sitting next to Finn as Lore sat on the other side of him, he swung his arms around us both

"get off me West" grunted Lore

"no thanks" he smirked

"so if you lot have been friends since you were eleven, do you have any embarrassing stories about these two?" Jac grinned evilly

"tons!" Lore exclaimed, always ready to embarrass Finn

"tell what you want, but just remember, whatever you have got on me, I have worse on you" Finn warned

"sure. Three words West: duck, syrup and batteries" she answered, causing Finn to visibly cringe

"you wouldn't" he gasped, while Mark and I laughed at the memory

"try me" she glared testily

"come on Becks!" he complained

"fine" she sighed "I guess I should save that for the bigger issues"

"you four are really close" Jac observed

"well, we have been stuck with each other for six years" I shrugged

'well, I am glad. It's nice to see friends who genuinely care about each other and aren't back stabbing, two faced b-tches" she shrugged. I looked around uncomfortable

"don;t worry about it Anna, Jackie has just had a bad experience with friends. She went to Beaubaxton and didn't really fit in"

"my apologies for not having a stick up my arse" Jac responded " Merlin, I hated them"

"aww, don't worry Jackie, you have us now!" Zeke grinned

"not much of an improvement" she mused

"take that back" he glared

"or what?"

"i hate you" he grumbled

"sure you do" she snorted

"so it was Lorelai's sister we met in America, right? Skylar, was it?" Thomas questioned

"what?" Lore gasped, turning to smack Finn upside the head "you visited Sky and didn't tell me?"

"Hey! Haywood set it up!" Finn cowered

"way to throw me under the bus!" Mark glared as Lore threw a pillow at him

"sorry mate" Finn shrugged, not looking all too sorry

"seriously though! When?" Lore questioned

"two days ago, we went to America for a training session with the Californian Eagles, she's probably written to you about it, she said she would!"

'how was she?" Lore replied, seeming to forgive them

"good, I took her out to get icecream and then let her meet the team while I practiced"

"and Amanda let you?" she asked, shocked

"hey, your mom hates you, not me. In fact, she was very happy, said she was glad Skylar was hanging out with 'worthy families' "

"witch" muttered Lore

"yeah, well. Skylar was really happy, told me to tell you to pop over"

"oh yeah, I will just 'pop' over a whole ocean" Lore answered sarcastically

"your sister is pretty cool, she eats a lot, got her two tacos when we went out to eat" Garrett told us

"poor girl has to eat stingy pure blood meals every day, can't say I surprised" Finn shrugged. Causing the team to look awkward

"I am disowned" Lore blurted out "I was and am nothing like my parents, and I don't want you think I ever was"

"oh... well. That's... good" Zeke answered awkwardly

"that's great" Jac answered firmly, daring anyone to argue

MARK'S POV:

we spent the hours leading up to the match sitting around the common room as Lore told embarrassing stories about us, mainly Finn as I hadn't pissed her off too much today. An hour before the match, the coach called us for a team meeting, so Lore and An sat in our room to wait.

"so, first match of the season. We are going up against the Wasps, so it should go fine, but they have a new keeper thats bloody good so I need Garrett, Jacqueline and Matthew to be on their toes. Thomas, don't catch the snitch till we are at least 200 points ahead of the other team, unless it's an emergency. Zeke, Xavier, focus on the seeker and keeper, we knock the keeper out the game and their backup, Forester will fill in, and she's shit. Kevin, you were fine in practice, so keep it up. And I mean it, if any of you feel a bit tired, you pull out, don't be arses and carry on, we have backups for a reason"

"even if they are annoying" Zeke smirked, not carrying to be heard

"aww you love us really" Finn smirked

"shut up!" Norman spoke nervously

"coach, we are going to be fine" Jac answered, "now lets go kick some Wasp's arses!" she cheered

"do wasp's have arses?" Finn whispered to me, I shrugged, laughing as we all cheered down to the pitches changing room

"you think Hannah got the girls to the match okay?" Finn asked me as we changed into our gear

"probably, she bloody organised" I answered

"I hope so, don't want them missing the first match"

!

"AND THEY'RE OFF! ROSS HAS SHOT STRAIGHT INTO THE AIR, PROBABLY ALREADY SPOTTED THE SNITCH! THE QUAFFLE IS IN THE POSSESSION OF GARRETT MORRIS AND... HE SCORES! THAT MUST OF BEEN THE QUICKEST SCORE IN HISTORY!"

even though I wasn't playing, I had my eye glued to the bludger's and I knew Finn was doing the same, it was so hard to sit here and just watch.

"Zeke's going to get hit" Finn muttered as a bludger flew behind him

"DARREN! LOOK OUT!" he screamed, jumping off the bench, just in time, Zeke swung round and whacked the bludger into the opposite direction before giving Finn a thumbs up

"is it bad that I kinda hope they get tired?" Finn muttered to me

"we are both horrible people" I shrugged

!

the game was going on longer than I thought it would, three hours, and it was 200 for us and 160 for them, the coach called a time out and told Jac to catch the snitch whenever she could, not to worry about the score, but even she was having difficulty what with the rain that just started. So far, the Wasps had lost a chaser and beater, but their replacements were still good.

"wheres the second bludger?" I asked Finn, searching the grey sky

"I dunno... I can't see it" he answered, eyes sweeping the pitch. I finally spotted a speck of brown zooming in the sky.. straight into Zeke

"shit!" I swore as it knocked into his broom

"HOLY MERLIN! BEATER ZEKE BRAVERMEN JUST GOT KNOCKED OUT THE SKY FROM A BLUDGER! OH THAT LOOKS NASTY!" the commenter screamed, referring the mix of limps on the floor

"West! You're up!" Norman shouted, rushing over to us, Finn nodded looking extremely nervous

"but-"

"Finn, mate, you are going to be great. Go on, kick some arse" I nodded encouragingly at him

"right" he answered, straightening up and grabbing his broom.

I sat back down and searched the cloud cluttered sky, praying to Merlin that Finn does well.

LORE'S POV:

"Finn's doing well" Anna observed

"yeah" I replied, non committed, I knew Finn would do great, and I was focusing on Xavier instead. Twice now, he had intentionally gone in front of a bludger, as if almost wanting to be hit, but Finn hit them away. What was he playing at?

"AND DOWN GOES THE LAST FIRST HAND BEATER FOR Tutshill! MARCUS HAYWOOD WILL BE REPLACING HIM!"

"yaay Mark!" cheered Anna, waving her blue flag excited, I smiled and also cheered, choosing to ignore what happened for now.

"FOUR HOURS LATER, Tutshill IS IN THE LEAD WITH 240 POINTS! THE WASPS ARE FAR BEHIND WITH 170! ITS A MATTER OF WHO CATCHES THE SNITCH YET! NOT THAT Tutshill IS IN A HURRY, THERE TEAM SEEMS TO BE NOW PLAYING FOR FUN AND NEW BEATERS WEST AND HAYWOOD ARE ON FIRE! LET'S SEE IF THERE IS A CHANGE IN TEAM NEXT MATCH!"

this was amazing, everywhere I looked, people were chanting Mark and Finn's name. Those two were killing it, not letting a bludger o near there team members, they knocked the Wasps keeper out in the first seven minutes. They had been training hard and it was finally paying off.

"AND WHAT IS THIS! ROSS SPEEDS DOWN THE PITCH! SHE MUST OF SEEN THE SNITCH! AND! SHE CAUGHT IT! Tutshill WINS THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEASON!"

the stadium erupted in joy and Anna and I screamed till our throats were hoarse, rushing down the stairs into the pitch were we showed our passes and ran to our boys and hugged them tightly, not caring about the fact they were dirty and wet

"you did great!" we congratulated

"thanks guys" they grinned widely.

After that, we congratulated the other members ,and I quietly went to Zeke and Xavier who were talking to their family

"what was that?" I demanded

"what?" they asked innocently

"you" I jabbed Xavier "purposely got hit! And while I am glad Mark got to play, why?!"

"we wanted the boys to play" he shrugged "those two are great players, personally I don't know why they didn't get offered our jobs, probably their lack of experience in professional quidditch, but we knew that if they played today, they would crush it and maybe get offers from other teams for a first string place, which they deserved"

I was speechless for a minute "thanks then, I guess"

"no worries, don' t tell them though, they would be pissed" Zeke replied

"it's our secret" I promised, before going back to celebrate.

"Mr P?" I asked, thinking I was delusion as I spotted Mr Peyton talking to my boys

"Lorelai!" grinned Mr Peyton, hugging me tightly

"what are you doing here?" I laughed

"you didn't think I would miss these two boys first match, did you? I am sorry but your mom couldn't make it," he added to Anna

"thats fine! I am so glad your here!" Anna answered, hugging her dad again

"yeah, thanks Mr P, it means a lot" Finn told him

"no need to thank me boys ,you're family"

!scene change!

"bloody hell, I am exhausted" yawned Finn, collapsing on the sofa

"well, I heard hitting bludgers around all day does that to you" I shrugged, handing him a glass of wine

"ah! Alcohol! I missed you!" he grinned triumphantly, gulping it down

"forty hours" Anna muttered to herself "he had to go forty hours without alcohol. Drunk arse"

"thanks" he responded sarcastically

"you're welcome" she answered

"so when do you lot have to get back?" Mark asked, lying on his bed

"tomorrow morning, McGonagall is going to open the floo at ten o clock, we don't have a lesson till twelve"

"I have History of Magic" Anna frowned

"fine, we don't have a _real_ lesson till twelve" I amended

"funny'

'thanks" I grinned, sitting next to Mark on the bed

"who knew watching a match could be so exhausting" I yawned

'aww, you okay?" Mark teased

"no. I am going bed, night" I replied, lying next to him

'aren't you going to get rid of the face paint?" Anna questioned

"nah, I quite like it" I shrugged, before the match Anna had painted my face blue and white. The Tutshill colours, and charmed my hair to have blue and white streaks.

"weirdo" she laughed, going to rub off the tutshill sign I painted on her cheek.


	19. Chapter 19

LORE'S POV:

"I can't believe it. We are graduating in five hours" Anna sighed, checking her watch.

' _Luke_ '

"I know, in five hours, we won't be students, we will be adults with our own worries about jobs, houses, apartments" Selena agreed, lying on her bed, staring at the bed. '

 _'Luke.'_

"in my case, it's traveling the world" bragged Dom "wanna join me Lore? I know these lot are either wimps or tied down"

"um.. yeah.. sorry, I gotta.. gotta go" I muttered, jumping off my bed and running out the room

"Lore!" called out Anna

"I'm fine. Please don't follow" I sighed, walking down to the common room, I ignored James's questions, Fred's laughs, and Albus's teases and ran straight out the Fat Lady portrait.

I didn't stop running until I was out of the castle. Kneeling against the castle wall to catch breath, I knew the running wasn't causing this feeling. From the moment I woke up, all I could think about was _Luke._ He should be here, next to me, graduating with me, sharing an apartment with me, we had it all planned. Everything,

" _Lauren Simpson is graduating tomorrow' Luke informed me, resting against the tree I was reading under._

" _oh sh-t. I liked her, she gave all the alcohol" I laughed "we should get her a present or something. She's becoming a Harpies player, isn't she?"_

" _that's what she wants to do. She's a bit of a mess right now, her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend. All three of them were going to move in together. So she has no house or room mates"_

" _I am trying desperately not to laugh because it sucks, but it is so f-cking cliché" I stifled a laugh_

" _stop being an ass. I don't want to laugh as well" he answered, stuffing his fist in his mouth to prevent doing so._

" _right. Anyways, it kinda sucks for her"_

" _yeah, it does. I hope that never happens to us' he mused_

" _what? You and my imaginary boyfriend cheat on me?" I raised my eye_

" _funny"_

" _two things wrong with that" I continued "one: I would need a boyfriend"_

" _you could get one easily, I know **seventh** years who wanna ask you out. It's gross"_

" _and you would be gay, which is possible" I smirked_

" _shut up" he laughed, shoving me_

" _do you think everything will be the same after we graduate?" he then asked_

" _course. What would change?"  
"I dunno.. we won't see each other every day, I don't want us to grow apart" he continued _

" _who the f-ck decided that?" I asked "as far as I am concerned, we are following our eight year old selfs plans, and getting a flat together as soon as we graduate"_

" _we wanted it made out of pot pie" he answered, amused_

" _we are wizards, it's possible" I shrugged, nonchalantly, before grinning "you aren't getting rid of me Bishop. Don't ever think you can"_

 _'wouldn't dream of it" he laughed, throwing an arm around me_

" _so, we are getting an apartment?"_

 _'black and white. I want a gym for my auror training,which you obviously would use. Gaming room would be cool"_

" _whose paying for this?" he asked, amused_

" _my parents, of course"_

" _if that's the case, then, I have always wanted a flat with a clear view ceiling"_

" _oohhh, and a swimming pool"_

" _why not throw a home cinema in there as well?"_

" _what about us?" I asked him_

" _well, obviously we will still be best friends. And kicking ass as Aurors"_

" _are we including Finn, Mark and An in our plans?"_

" _they can live with us, but before that as soon as we graduate you and I are going traveling like we have always wanted to"_

" _deal' I grinned, resting my head on his shoulder._

We had all these plans, graduate, buy an apartment, travel, kick ass as Aurors. And now I have to do it all by myself, because he's gone and it's not _fair._ I hated it. I thought I was moving forward and accepting his death, and now it's the day of graduation and I felt the same as I did months ago, lost, scared and missing my brother.

I sat down next to the Lake, and dipped my feet in it, rolling my jeans up to avoid getting wet.

"Lore?"

FINN'S POV:

"what are you doing outside? Aren't you supposed to be saying your goodbyes to this place?"

"I just... needed to get away for a bit. Why are you here? I thought Mark and you had practice and could only make it for the ceremony?"

"yeah, but Norman gave us time off after we almost killed Jac, we were so distracted" I shrugged, sitting next to her, I got a chance to look at her face, she wasn't crying, but I could tell she was upset.

"Lore.. what's wrong? What happened?"

"nothing. Nothing" she took a deep breath "I am just being stupid"

"that's me" I laughed "Lorelai, come on, you can tell me anything"

"I know. I just.. miss Luke"

"oh" I sighed, I was scared this would happen. It seemed whenever something big happened in Lore's life, instead of celebrating it, she would think of our dead friend.

"Lore, I.. I dunno what to say. It seems the phrase "everything will be okay" is overused now"

"I know.. you don't have to say anything. It's just.,, I was in the dorm with the girls and they were all talking about their plans, you know? To move out, get an apartment, job.. and I couldn't help but think that a couple of years ago, that was Luke and I. We had all these dreams.. these plans, things we were going to do, places we were going to visit, people we wanted to meet. And now he's gone"

"Lore.. I know it sucks, but you need to move on. You can still do all those things and if you need someone to do them with you, you have us"

"we both were going to be Aurors" she continued "get an apartment with you lot. Travel the world."

"Dom and you are going to be aurors" I listed "we have a flat. And you can travel the world with Dom if you want, or I am sure I can come with you after this season ends" "my point is, I know you planned to do all these things with Luke and you miss him, but you can still do them. And I know he would want you too"

"you're right. I am sorry.. I didn't mean to break down"

"never apologise for having emotions, ice queen" I teased, swinging my arm around her

"git"

"British"

"f-ck off"

"that's better"

"where's Mark?"

"inside, he went to find Annie, but I had a feeling you weren't in the dorm when I heard all the squeals"

"oh yeah.. the girls tend to get a bit.. high pitched when they are happy"

"you're telling me" I cringed. That's why Lore was my favourite girl, she rarely squealed. Not that I would ever admit it.

"you should probably go say hi to Annie, I know I am your favourite, but you don't want her to find out and get upset"

"funny" I snorted

"Yup. Thinking of changing my career path and becoming a comedian"

"smart idea. It's a shame to deprive the world of such talent"

"exactly" she smirked, getting up and pulling me up as well

"hey! When did you become the hulk?"

"Dom's been making me train with her ever sine we got the acceptance letter"

"speaking of which, Anna still didn't get hers?"

"um. Wait, you're right. She hasn't, unless she didn't tell me. Odd"

ANNA'S POV:

"ANNA JASMINE PEYTON!" Lore screamed, barging into the dorm where I was packing some last minute stuff, Dom, Rox and Sel had gone downstairs to say goodbye to some teachers who taught them in their first year.

"again, not my name" I cringed, folding my sweater.

"don't you give me sass missy!" she scolded, wagging her finger.

Merlin, I need sane friends. "you never got your acceptance letter from Mungos! Or you did and didn't tell me! Which is worse!" she collapsed onto the bed next to Mark "oh, hey Haywood"

"hey Beckett" he nodded, laughing.

"who says it would be an acceptance letter?" maybe I could change the subject

"smart questions only, Anna" she dismissed.

Shall I be happy that my friend had so much faith in me?

"so? The letter?"

"I umm.. _did_ actually get an acceptance letter from _a_ hospital" I cringed

"what? That's great! Congratu- wait. _A_ hospital?"

damn, she's going to make a hell of an Auror.

"yes. A," I confirmed

"there is only one wizarding hospital in England though. Mungos. Wait, you going Muggle on me, Peyton? Which is cool I guess"

"no. actually. I am not"  
"Anna. What the hell are you on about? Subtly isn't your strong suit. Missy I-am-going-to-blab-about-Sky's-surprise-party"

"hey! No fair! I was eleven! And she had such cute big eyes!" I defended. There should be a rule about how long someone could hold stuff over you. Especially for my friends.

"not the point. Letter?"

I sighed, and accioed my acceptance letter, it was easier to show than tell.

'what the hell?" she muttered, tossing it to Mark, who read it and gasped

"why didn't you tell me?"

"tell her what?" Finn asked, trying to take the letter from Mark, who ignored him,

"I didn't want to upset you" I sighed

"upset her how?" Finn again tried

"so you decided to _not_ tell me?" she asked, a bit angrily.

"NOT TELL HER WHAT?"

"read the damn letter West!" snapped Lorelai

"I am trying to!" he replied, gesturing to the letter now under Mark

"oh, right sorry. You should of asked" Mark shrugged, handing the letter to Finn

"d-ck" Finn muttered

"Morganas? Seriously? You got accepted into _America?_ ' Finn asked, reading the content

"yeah"

"which brings me to my next question" ranted Lore "how did you get accepted? Because as far as I am aware, you have to _apply_ to be accepted. or you never told me you applied!"

"also, if you did it to see what your worth is. Which is great, why haven't you told me about Mungos? You _did_ apply to Mungos right? Or did you lie to me?"

"Lore... I know England is where you want to be" I sighed, and sat next to her "where _all_ of you want to be. And that America isn't your home anymore, but it is mine. I don't have all those horrible memories attached there like you three. I miss my mom, and dad, and sisters. Hell, my sister is getting married in a month and I have only met the fiance once!"

"Anna.. I don't mind that you want to go back, honestly. I just.. wish you would of told me" Lore sighed, I leaned my head on her shoulder

'sorry. I just didn't want you to hate me"

"hate you?" "why would I hate you? Annie, your my best friend'

'after me!" coughed Finn

"nope. Best friend. And I just want you happy, if we made it through the boys spending a year away I am sure we can deal with it"

"you sure?" I confirmed

"positive" she smiled, reaching out to hug me

"WOW WE ARE DRAMATIC!" Finn suddenly shouted

"idiot" I laughed as Lore back rolled onto him and started tickling him.

Merlin, my friends are idiots.

And that is probably why I joined them in tickling Finn to death.

Mark's POV:

"I can't believe you lot are graduating in twenty minutes" I glanced at my watch

"I am so nervous" Anna moaned, looking around the lawn nervously

"seriously Annie? Why are you nervous? You don't even have to say anything!" laughed Lorelai, swinging her arm around Anna and Finn, the two closest to her. Anna and Finn swung their free arm around me, so we formed a huddle.

"I am going to miss you guys" Anna whispered, tears forming in her eyes

"Annie. We will still see each other, a lot " Finn promised, chuckling at his crying friend.

"but it won't be the same! I am going to be so far away!" she complained

"Annie. We can fly, floo and portkey any time you need us. Don't worry. Besides, the boys are heading to the states in a bit for their next season"

yup, last month, we finished our first ever season, and Tutshill won. we have now been offered first string places as Zeke and Xavier are retiring from the team after playing for ten years straight. They want to still play, but for a more lowkey team that won't have to do so much.

"yeah. But still! Promise me everything will be the same. That we won't ever be awkward around each other, and only meet on class reunions to brag about our lives and make awkward small talk!" she demanded

"I promise" Lore laughed, as Finn and I agreed

"Good" she nodded, pulling us into a hug.

"Beckett, Lorelai" called Professor McGonagall, Finn and I, who had managed to score front row seats with the Wotter clan, jumped off our seats and started whooping with pure joy, not even caring that every parent in the area were glaring at us evilly. Seth was whistling. Even Mr Peyton joined us in cheering, but didn't stand after Mrs P glared at him.

"BECKETT! BECKETT!" we cheered

catching Lorelai's attention, she gave us the finger, but was laughing in pure happiness.

As she got off stage, we got out of our seats to go greet her

"YOU DID IT!" Finn shouted, pulling her into a tight hug, I joined him soon after

"thanks!" she grinned happily, fixing her cap,

"let's go sit and wait for Annie!"

soon enough, Anna was being called on stage, and she had Finn, Lore, Mr Peyton, all her brothers and I cheering and whooping while the girls clapped politely.

"CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS!" Mrs Bishop laughed, rushing towards them

"Emily?" grinned Lore, turning around "what are you doing here?"

"you don't think I would miss your graduation, did you?"

laughing, Lorelai pulled her into a tight hug

"don't forget me!" Gemma grinned

"and me!" Seth smirked, pulling his daughter in all but blood into a hug.

The day was spent in pure joy, we celebrated the girls, and the Bishop's and Peyton's treated us all to Accio.

After we ate, Finn, Lore and I headed home after saying a tearful good bye to everyone

"I can't believe I am _free!_ " Lorelai grinned, jumping onto the couch

"until Auror training" Finn reminded her, taking his seat next to her

"thanks" she sarcastically grinned, kicking him

"it's going to be weird without Anna" I sighed, handing them each a glass of wine.

"yeah, but I mean I get why she went back. A week till her training isn't a long time" Lore shrugged, leaning her head on my shoulder

"tired?" I asked

"exhausted" she corrected "who knew celebrating could tire you out?"

"bet you never expected to say that" Finn snorted

'oh Merlin, don't say I am turning _old_ " she shuddered

"no. I think you are turning human. Now go to sleep" I laughed

"harsh" she pouted, but sighed and got up, heading to her room.

"night"

"night"


	20. Chapter 20

ANNA'S POV

"so how excited are you?" I grinned, watching my best friend grin over the witch mirror

"Merlin, so excited! I can't wait, I am literally counting down the minutes. By the way, I have an hour and a half till I gotta get to Dom's, the witch is making me pick her up so she gets so extra sleep in"

Lore pretending to be annoyed, but her smile immediately stopped me from talking her seriously. The girl was _radiating_ happiness.

And her job was to kick arse.

Every littles girls dream.

"I am glad" I laughed, keeping it quiet. I was living back at my mum's and dad's, seeing as I only moved back about two months ago, and needed to still settle down. Hospital hours were taking up my life

"you should go to sleep" Lore glared at me as I yawned. I had been insisting for the last thirty minutes that I wasn't tired, but the bags under my eyes said differently, apparently.

"Annie, you have been having crazy hours, and its like two o clock there. Go to sleep"

"I am fine Lore, I gotta get used to it one day. And I already feel bad enough about not being able to physically be there, this is the next best thing" I tried to convince her, before she could open her mouth to argue, I heard a knock on my door and dad entered

"hey dad, did I wake up? I didn't mean to. Bloody walls are so thin here" I said

"no, I went to get a glass of water, and heart you talking. Thought it was Lorelai and wanted to say hi"

"hey Mr P" Lorelai waved from the mirror

"hello Lorelai, how are you?" dad asked, sitting next to me on my bed

"I'm good, excited, but good"

"that's great. Look, I am sorry we aren't there to meet you. Karla and I wanted to get a flight there, but the weather is just to horrendous"

"oh Mr P I didn't realise you were going to. It's fine, don't worry about it, thanks though" Lore began awkwardly

"of course we had too. Why would we miss our daughters first day of work?" dad grinned, amused by Lorelai's reaction. It was true, dad and mom treated Lore as their daughter. In their mind, they had three daughters. Not two. And I loved it. I knew Lore did too, but she still got a bit awkward, bless her soul.

"kick some butt for me okay?" dad continued

"only if you say ass, Mr P" she smirked, recovering from her earlier shock

"Lorelai Katherine Beckett, you go out there and kick those slimy b-stard's asses, got it?" dad corrected, causing Lorelai to laugh

"Dennis! Seriously!" scolded mum, entering the room, she joined us on the bed

"Lorelai dear! It's so good to see you. I am sorry we aren't there in person, but I am sure you'll be great today. Just make sure you eat, have a big breakfast. And take a packed lunch, it doesn't matter if it's not 'cool' food is important, especially with a job like yours-" Lorelai cut into mum's rambling (thankfully)

"thanks Mrs P. don't worry, I will eat, it is me, after all'

"oh that's right. Between the lot of you, I cooked double of what I made for my kids"

"where's Mark and Finn?" dad asked

"asleep, I suppose. They got back from training dead, and have it first thing today"

"aren't you going to wake them up before you leave?"

"nah. Let them sleep" Lore shrugged, unconcerned.

"I bet you wished you had some Tacos from GobbleUp" I changed the topic, smiling

"b-tch. Why bring that up? I am _dying_ for their tacos" Lore glared, ignoring the fact that my parents were in the room. She was _obsessed_ with tacos. And GobbleUp just made her crazy

'sorry"

"Merlin, what I'd give for just one of them" Lore daydreamed, at that moment Finn barged into the room

"Never fear, Finn is here!" he announced, an embarrassed Mark walking in his wake

'are those what I think they are?" Lore wondered, glancing at the paper bag in Finn's hand

"twelve taco's from GobbleUp?" Finn guessed, smirking

"BLOODY HELL WHERE DID YOU GET THEM FROM?!" Lore shouted in excitement

"guilty" I grinned through the mirror

"you were in on to this?" Lore demanded, holding the paper bag to her chest delicately

"I was on distract Lore duty, while the boys port keyed over"

"I love you I love you I love you!" chanted Lorelai, hugging the boys and just settling for a mouth numbing grin at me

"you're welcome" I laughed "now, I am gonna go, enjoy you're tacos. I love you, You are going to kick some serious ass out there. Break a leg, preferably a bad guys" with that. Mom, dad and I signed off

FINN'S POV:

"I still can't believe you all did this" Lore grinned as she sat on her bed, diving into her meat taco. Her stomach was truly made of iron

"course we did, we weren't going to sleep through your first day of arse kicking" I grinned,sitting on the bed next to her

" _professional_ arse kicking. Lore's been in the arse kicking business from birth" smirked Mark, dropping down next to me

"BECKETT!" a voice filled the apartment just before a six foot, blonde veela barged into Lore's room

"morning to you too, Weasley" I winced

"gross, what's that doing in here?" Dom wrinkled her nose, gesturing to me

"lovely girl that one" I spoke sarcastically

"okay kids, calm down" Lore sighed, amused "what are you doing here so early Dom?"

''saving my face" Dom replied, sitting next to Lore and stealing a taco, at Lorelai's raised eyebrow, she expanded "mum's been kissing my cheek since about five in the morning. And crying. i had to get outta there. Nice taco's, by the way"

" _nice_ taco's? _Nice?!_ These aren't just any _old taco'_ _Weasley._ They from _GobbleUp,_ which means they are the best damn taco's in this universe." glared Lorelai defensively

"Merlin. They are great taco's then" Dom said, confused

"better" Lorelai shrugged

"crazy Americans" muttered Dom under her breath

"hey! I resent that! We'd be just as crazy if we were from England!" I defended, grinning. It was never too early to piss Dom off

"just hurry up and get ready" she scowled

"Shit Dom!" I swore, ducking and blocking her kick, I rolled on the floor and jumped up, aiming a punch at her face. We had gathered quite a crowd for our first day training, all the rookies were watching us.

"that's enough you two" Harry's amused voice came from the corner as I had just pinned Dom down, I nodded and got up, lending her a hand and wiping my brow.

"hit the showers, then we will go onto theoretical, you have ten minutes rookies" he commanded, gaining his professional I-can-fire-your-arse-even-though-you-don't-work-here-yet voice. Nice try Harry, I saw you cower behind your fifteen year old nephew from your wife.

"come on Beckett I am kicking your arse in theoretical now" Dom smirked, dragging me to the showers.


	21. Chapter 21

Three years later

LORELAI'S POV

" _no West_ " I glared adamantly

"come on" he tried again, looking at Mark for support

"first of all, I don't want to. Second of all, _even if I did_ I am an Auror. I can't just go publicizing myself for the whole fricken wizarding world to hear when half of it wants me dead. It's like a f-cking beacon for all those arse hats I stuck in prison" I glared

"we won a spot on the fricken world cup team and want our friends to celebrate with us. I am sorry for asking for so much" he finally sighed, annoyed, and left to stomp to his room, pissed.

"Oh Merlin I can't deal with this shit right now" I groaned, resting on the couch "I was up till three in the morning chasing down a empty lead, then when we _finally_ realised there was nothing and I was about to crash on my desk, some retard decides he's going to break out of the holding cells, and Dom and I had to chase him down three streets and stun him in front of three muggles accidentally. One panicked, one fainted, one was too stoned to care. So we had to obliviate them, drag retard back to cells, go to the Ministry to sort out the little magic exposing issue and _then_ go home. Point is, I am not in the mood to deal with moody West who has abandonment issues"

"Lore go easy on him. It's not that simple" Mark sighed

"what's not simple?"

"Look. Apart of the whole world cup promo, every team member is supposed to have an interview with their family to kinda hype them up, I guess. It's compulsory, and well, when Finn found out, he freaked. I talked him down, and explained we can get you two to come for him and explain to the interviewers it's because we are so close or something"

I looked at him for a second, feeling bad "great" I groaned "way to make me feel bad. I guess I should go talk to him" as I was getting up, I felt a vibration from my jean pocket, sighing, I pulled out my witch mirror and tapped it

"Hey Beckett, we got a fresh lead, meet me in London, near Gringotts in five" Dom told me, she was standing out side the bank, her blonde hair in a messy bun, and black sunglasses covering her blue eyes. She was wearing the leather jacket Rose made her and I out of dragon hide, which made it resistant to most minor spells and a nights to remember t shirt that I got her last christmas

"Shit Weasley, you sure? It isn't like last night, is it?" I complained

"nah, this one is legit, I tracked it myself. The last one was done by that retard Henderson' she assured me

"kay, be there in five"

"sorry. Duty calls. Don't worry I will sort out West when I get back" I apologised, pulling a green bomber jacket over my black t shirt and skinny jeans, tossed on some black ankle boots and my hair into a messy bun before apparating on the spot

"you look great" Dom smirked, referring to the bags that permanently resided under my eyes

"I have given up on all hope of removing them, and accepted they are here to stay. I even named them, that's Veronica" I gestured to my left eye "and Seraphina"

"Merlin, you are f-cked up"

"honey, aren't we all?" I grinned, before looking around "where is the rat, anyways?"

"in that building. Apparently, it's his hideout, I got intel that he is asleep in there, it should be an easy, in-out job. Stun him, bound him up and apparate him to the office"

"brilliant. Let's go" I answered, cracking my knuckles and grabbing my wand from my pocket.

"three. Two." mouthed Dom, hiding on the other side of the door, I nodded at one and kicked the door open, letting Dom take the lead

"AUROR DEPARTMENT, HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM" I shouted, following her. I loved this part of the job, the rush you got, even if the guy was drunk, stoned and asleep.

He didn't put up much of a fight, so I stunned him while Dom handcuffed him and let her apparate him back to the department, after all, she did all the tracking.

"great job girls" Ron spoke as we dragged him down the hall into the holding cells

"thanks Uncle Ron" Dom grinned, throwing him into a cell

"that was easy" I mused

"thank Merlin, I am falling asleep on my feet" yawned Dom, taking off her sunglasses

"speaking of which, I am going to head home, gotta fix some stuff" I answered thinking of Finn "see ya tomorrow boss Weasley, mini Weasley" I saluted at them and exited, hearing Ron shout "GINNY'S INVITED YOU ALL FOR TOMORROWS BRUNCH"

"thanks!" I called back, apparating as soon as I got to the designated area

FINN'S POV

"hey jackass" Lore greeted

"is it just me or are your greetings getting even ruder?" I glanced up from my spot on the bed, throwing a ball in the air

"you made me feel really bad"

I frowned for a second, then spoke "I feel like this is Hogwarts all over again"

"what can I say, you piss a lot of people off"she shrugged, falling onto my rolling chair. The room was pretty much the same as when I first moved in, seeing as Mark and I lived at the team house during seasons.

"I wanted to apologise" Lore sighed "for being.. um.. you see"

"this is real hard for you, isn't it?" I smirked, enjoying seeing her struggle. It was a rare sight for ice queen.

"yeah" she frowned

saving her from her misery I spoke "it's okay Lore, I get what you want to say"

she grinned gratefully before frowning again, "no, I should apologise. I am really sorry, I didn't know what it meant to you, you should of told me" she added, I grinned. Only Lorelai Katherine Beckett could apologise and shade me at once

"but I guess I should be a bit nicer. And plus, I wanted to tell you, I am coming to the interview"

"thank you Lore, that means a lot" I grinned, sitting up "now come on, my emotionally stunted weirdo, give me a hug"

she glared at me but let me hug her regardless, before wincing "what's wrong?" I frowned, putting her at arms view to observe her, concerned

"nothing, just the stitches sting sometimes" she waved off, I frowned regardless.

Last month, Dom and Lore went on this classified, top secret mission in Russia. She wouldn't tell _anyone_ about it. And then she came back a week later with burns, apparently her and Dom fell through a nine story burning buildings. She managed to save Dom, but got a cut going from her chest to her naval. It was done by dark magic, so Vic could only stitch it up. It was scary

"you go to Vic's appointment?" I asked

"yeah. The next ones next week" she smiled up at me "don't worry West, that's Annie's job, now come on let's go see our idiot friends"

ANNA'S POV:

"you okay?" Mark had been unusually quiet and it was pretty unnerving

"yeah.. just thinking" he sighed leaning against the kitchen counter

"about?"

"who to get to come for the interview. Finn wants you and Lore, but it's usually each individual player with their family. I guess I could get away with it, say we are so close and combine the interview... but"

"but.." I knew this boy too well, and could piratically see the wheels turning in his head

"but... I guess it would be nice to have family there" he admitted

"you're thinking of inviting your parents?"

"well... I would prefer _parent,_ avoid the screaming and shit, but I know that will cause more drama with the press. I will just make sure my parents aren't near any sharp, fragile objects" he rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"so you want to invite them?" I confirmed. It seems as though Mark was actually building a relationship with his parents. True, it was fragile as hell, but ever since he got accepted onto the team, his parents had been more willing to actually converse with him. And it was a nice way for him connect with them both separately without them fighting. He just made sure they didn't come to the same match.

"yeah. I mean, it would be good, for us, I guess?" he said it more like a question than a statement

"yeah. It will" I assured him.

"great. Then I will ask them" he grinned, slightly more confident

"good"

MARK'S POV:

"watch out!" Finn shouted, pulling his broom up, I turned in the direction he was looking and swerved just as a bludger came bowling into me

"shit" I swore, wiping my brow, practice for the Cup was _brutal._ It made me miss three years ago, training with Tutshill for our first match.

 _A lot_ had changed in three years. Finn and I were now first string on Tutshill, the boys had graciously stepped down after our first season as they got accepted by the Lions, which was their dream position.

Lore, Finn and I still lived together.

Anna became a professional healer this year, after completing her three year training. She transferred to England, but still visited America almost every weekend. Lore and Dom were _killing_ it. They had captured more bad guys in their first year than most Aurors did in their entire career. They both completed training in a year, while most newbies took two. And were already level three Aurors.

We were all settled. We were all _happy._

0000

"we have Lucy's concert tonight, right?" Finn asked from the shower after practice

"yeah. James said he and Fred would come to the apartment about six forty five. The concert starts at eight, but Luce told us to meet her backstage at seven"

"great, the girls coming?"

"Lore is, Anna has to work, which sucks. Dom and Al may also meet us there though"

"I really bloody hope An wiped up some more of those muscle fixing shit. My arms are so f-cking sore it isn't funny" he groaned, drying his hair and tossing a sweatshirt on

"I need her to fix my bruise too" I added, pulling a black t shirt over the bruise on my chest.

"we should get going, its six fifteen"

"LUCY! LUCY!" I turned to grin at Finn as we clambered through the audience to the VIP area Luce set up for us. This was amazing, they all _loved_ Lucy. Even though she had _just_ released her first album. Hell, she had only been doing this for a year and a half, about dropping out in her final year. She stopped touring with the Weird Sisters a year ago, and released her first album which she was now touring. And the crowd were crazy in love with her. And I knew she loved them just as much. She was right now on stage with a guitar in hand, singing a slow song from her album. She looked like she _belonged._ Wearing a flowy white knee length dress and her pastel purple hair in a high pony. This was only her third week of tour, and yet the crowd knew all the words and were singing along with her. Finn, James and I kept out heads down and hoodie's up, not wanting to take any attention from Lucy.

"I hate my boss" Dom grumbled

"you mean your uncle?" I asked, amused

"no. Uncle Harry is nice. Auror Potter is a bloody pain in the f-cking arse"

"that's my dad your swearing at" James pointed out

"like you give a shit" James shrugged and gestured as if to say, 'go on'

"what did he do, anyways?" Fred questioned, smiling at a group of girls who had noticed us arrive

"put me on paperwork duty for two days because I 'disobeyed commands' "

"not this _again_ "Lore groaned following Al with some drinks. She handed them out and turned to Dom "Weasley, you almost exposed magic to a class of kindergartens! F-cking own up to your dumb ass mistakes and take the paper work"

"thanks _partner_ " Dom snorted, not at all offended. Her and Lore were always at it, but they were really close.

"welcome" she shrugged, looking at the stage and watching as Lucy finished her last cord and suddenly the music picked up, and a bunch of back up dancers came behind her and pulled at her dress, it fell to reveal black leather shorts and a black half sleeve crop top. Her hair fell out her high pony and flowed loosely down her back

"thank Merlin Uncle Percy isn't her" Al snorted, looking at his cousins dress attire

"that would be funny" Fred snorted

"I think he purposely didn't come. He went to pick Lucy up from her rehearsal once and Molly said his face was red for an hour"

"yet another reason I am not having kids. I can't be bothered to do that whole overprotective dad routine" Finn spoke up

"that's code for, I know I will never find a girl willing to deal with my bull, so I may as well pretend like I don't want one" Lore teased

"says the girl who hasn't dated. Ever"

"out of _choice._ I mean, who was asked out by the most popular guy in Ilvermorny when she was in _fourth grade?"_

I never asked you out _"_ Finn answered immediately

"idiot. I am talking about Ryan Harold, from seventh year. Remember? You and Luke spent three months making banana peels appear in front of him after it?"

"oh yeah. Good times" Finn grinned nostalgically

"yeah" Lore snorted "that's one way to put it. You two asses made me seem like this defenseless princess"

"sorry for defending your honour"

"he asked me out! He didn't fricken kiss me or some sh-t"

"details" waved off Finn, non committed

"prick" she glared


	22. Chapter 22

FINN'S POV:

"nervous?" Mark asked the girls

"I beat up six foot tattooed freaks for a living Haywood. This is nothing" Lore laughed off, but Ann only nodded nervously

"you didn't tell us we would have a _live_ audience" Anna whispered nervously, twisting her fingers through the loose strands of hair that had fallen out her elegant bun

"sorry Annie. Didn't realise it was a biggie" I shrugged, used to having these kind of interviews

Mark shot me a look "It's okay Annie. Finn and Lore will be with you. If you feel nervous, just smile and let Finn answer for you"

"it's gonna be okay Annie" Lore reassured her, fixing her jacket. We told the girls to wear whatever they felt comfortable in, and with the help of our stylist, Lore was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a white cami top and black three quarter sleeve, short blazer. She wore peep toe black heels and her hair was loose and straight.

Annie was wearing a light blue, knee length dress with white heels and her hair was elbow length, and pulled back with some clips.

"now. Give a warm welcome for Findley West, beater of Tutshill Tornado's and his friends, Lorelai Beckett and Anna Peyton!" I signaled the girls to follow and we walked out into the interview room, blinded by lights and cheers from the crowd. I kissed the interviewers cheeks and the girls hugged her before sitting down.

"I was going to start off brief, but I am sure the whole audience is _dying_ to know more about your friends! How long have you been friends for?" the interviewer grinned brightly, and I immediately scowled mentally. I knew people like her, I _have_ dealt with people like her, they were fake, and full of ulterior motives.

"we've been friends since we were eleven, Elise" I smiled politely, knowing her motives

"that's a long time, you all must be mighty close"

"yeah, well, the four of us are pretty inseparable. We have been through a lot with each other, so it was kind of expected"

"a lot is an understatement, don't you think?" she laughed fakely, and I immediately cringed and looked at Lore, knowing she had caught on too

"well, school life is pretty hectic, what between the parties and detention" I smoothly changed the topic

"you all must have been pretty popular, in _both_ your schools" she observed.

"yes, you could say that. We all enjoyed parties, and just generally talking to people"

she seemed to realise that I wasn't going to cave in, so switched the topic "so Lorelai, you are an Auror? And Anna, a healer?"

"yes, I work for St Mungos, in the spell damage sector" Anna answered, after Lore just smiled politely

"that's fascinating! And Lorelai?"

"yeah. An Auror, not any sectors to tell you about, I am afraid" she laughed cheerfully

"I just _have_ to ask, was it hard? To be accepted, I mean? Due to your track record and all"

"I am afraid your information source is wrong, Elise, never been in jail, I am afraid" she laughed again, more forced this time

she let out a small giggle of her own and tried again "of course not dearie. But it must have been a dump, the two schools?"

"no, not really" I answered for Lore, noticing her agitation

"oh? Well, thats good" she smiled, before turning to me again "what about you, Finn, did Mark and you ever consider taking an extra year, before accepting the job, to recover?"

"well, switching schools wasn't _that_ heart breaking, Elise. Marky and I are big boys" I joked, uncomfortable

"oh of course" she laughed "I just meant loosing someone so dear to you, after all, it must of taken its toll" I saw Lore's eyes narrowed at her, and Anna visibly gasped. I internally panicked and glanced at my publicist, who smiled polity at Elise "Findley came to talk to his _quidditch_ fans about _quidditch_ "

Elise nodded and got the message. Yolanda was pretty scary after all.

00-0—0-

ANNA'S POV

"that b-tch" Mark seethed as we walked out the room, were he was pacing backstage

"guys, I am so sorry, I had no idea she would do that, Mark and I told Yolanda to make sure they didn't bring up that kinda stuff' I apologised, looking at Lore, who looked beyond pissed

"it's okay Finn, it's not your fault. It's that b-tch whose going to get sued for all she's worth if Al has anything to do with it" Albus graduated a year and a half ago and was already taking the law world by storm, after spending six months studying Muggle and Magic law, he became a success in both worlds, and was Lucy's, James', Rox's, Lore's, Dom's, Mark's and I's lawyer.

"still. Merlin knows what she is going to try with my parents" Mark groaned, annoyed

"It's okay Mark. Yolanda told her, she'll be more careful" I assured him as Lore and Finn plotted Elise's murder.

Nice lot, my friends

"sh-t, that's my mirror, I gotta go, I am sorry" I apologised, as my trouser pocket buzzed. Bloody hospital.

"okay, see you back at the house?"

"course" I hugged him and then Lore and Finn before apparating on the spot.

"Peyton!" greeted Jared

"evening Jay, what's up?" I replied, checking in at the receptionist desk

"nothing, just saving your arse" he shrugged casually, resting against the table

"and hows that?"

"I have been doing _your_ shift for half an hour now. Missed a date with a real bird for you"

"aw thanks Jay, I knew you loved me" I grinned, pinching his cheeks

"whatever. You owe me" he reminded, walking to the exit

"thank you" I called out, grinning widely, I then realised I was still late, and ran to my patients, swearing.

the next day

LORE'S POV:

"well, don't you look peachy" Dom smirked, I looked up from my desk, flipped her, and returned to my comfortable position of resting my head on a pile of case folders.

"late night?" she asked, placing a cup of coffee in front of me, I thanked her gratefully and took a large gulp

"don't ask. It involved Finn, a shit ton of glitter and a f-cking mariachi band"

"I don't even wanna know" Dom sighed, amused

"it's for the best" I answered solemnly

'is that why you are sleeping on Douglas Bishop, instead of hunting for him?"

"shit" I groaned, peeling off a picture that had stuck to my face

"need help?" she grinned, amused

"you are enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I take great pleasure in your pain" she answered solemnly, reaching over and grabbing a file

"you packed for Russia?" she asked, shifting through victim's data

"yeah, are we sure Douglas will be there? And it's not more false in-tell?"

"Harry said it's a bout ninety percent chance that he's there. The team seems pretty confident this time round"

"course they do. Truman is on the case, after all" I rolled my eyes

"As head auror, I have to ignore that comment. But as a citizen to the magical community, I agree" Harry grinned, popping over to our desk

"hey Uncle Harry" Dom grinned

"hey Dom, Lore"

"business or family?" I asked him, wearily. I could _not_ handle more work right now

"family. Gin wants to know if you girls can visit before heading on the mission, she's invited the rest of the cousins and Finn, Mark and Anna"

"sounds good, I should be free tomorrow, that is, if my arse of a boss doesn't give me any more work" I mused

"really big pain, he is" Dom added, smirking

"this pain in the arse boss can give you more paperwork than you had essay's in school" Harry reminded us, smirking

"I am telling Aunt Ginny" Dom answered with a smirk of her own

"you wouldn't" he gasped

"try me" she replied, leaning back

"I am leaving now. And it's _not_ because I am scared of my wife" he assured us

"sure boss, whatever you say" Dom grinned

MARK'S POV:

"Peyton, you don't get a bloody say in this" I entered the apartment to find Finn and Lore standing in front of Anna, who had a wooden spoon pointed at the two.

Total normal.

"say in what?" I asked, locking the door behind me

"thank Merlin! Someone sane!" Anna exclaimed, turning to face me

"sort these _idiots_ out!"

"what's wrong?" I repeated, grabbing a beer from the fridge. I have a feeling I need it.

"they want me to leave the apartment when Kyle comes so they can interrogate him! Tell them to stop pissing around!"

"well-" I began

"oh Merlin! Not you too, this is fricken stupid" Anna groaned

"Annie, you're pretty serious about the guy, I wanna make sure he's good enough"

'he is!"

"you're judgment doesn't count though, you are blinded by love" Finn answered

"and you are all blinded by _idiocy_ "

"doesn't matter, you invited him round tonight, so you have to let us interrogate him for a couple of hours and then you can see him" Lore told her, an air of finality in her voice

"a _couple of hours?!_ Hell no! Plus, don't you have a plane to catch at three to meet Sky?"

"yes. And it's fine, I can be late to the airport, I will just confound the security guard"

"very auror like" Anna responded sarcastically

"thanks"

"Annie, I agree with Finn and Lore, we get to interrogate the bloke"

"I hate you three"

"no, you don't" I grinned, ruffling her hair


	23. Chapter 23

Hello everyone,

I have decided to end this now with an epilogue, because I have realised that I don't really have an ending. I mean, I could carry this on forever, it doesn't have a proper plot line to develop, it's just about four friends, which can last for their whole lives.

I dont want to completely stop, seeing as I really do like my characters and how I have fleshed them out. So, whenever inspiration strikes, I'll write short one shots and post them, but for now, here is a look into thee four American's future.

ANNA'S:

Anna's life was pretty uneventful compared to her Auror and Quidditch star best friends, but she loved it.

Her healer career was as successful as she could hope for, and after nine years of hard work, she was promoted to Head of the Magical Spell department, were she ultimately began, her job required little travel, but she still flew back to America every four months to visit her parents and siblings, and sometimes attend workshops in American hospitals.

In terms of her family, at age 23, she begun one of her own. Her and her boyfriend of three years, Jared Westford, a fellow healer. They had five children.

Little Amber Kate Westford was born only six months after their marriage, something that Finn, Mark and Lore teased An about endlessly. Lorelai was the happiest godmother alive when she saw her grey eyed, blonde headed angel, and vowed to protect her namesake with her life.

Two years later, little Austin Lucas Westford and Emma Charlotte (in honour of Carla, her aunt) Westford blessed their parents and godparents, Finn and Mark. They both had Ann's blue eye's and Jared brown hair.

After a hectic two years, Kayla Bree Westford was born surrounded by her god fathers, Sam and Oscar

Finally, little Ethan Noah Westford blessed the world a year later, and Bradon was a happy godfather.

FINN:

life for Finn didn't change much, he grew as a quidditch star on Tutshill, remaining loyal to his team, despite offers from other international teams.

In his career, he played in five World Cups, more than any other player, even Mark retired before the fifth.

He never married, or had kids, focusing on his career and looking after his 'nieces and nephews'

MARK

Mark's career end before his fifth Quidditch world cup, by choice of couse.

After about 17 years of unfathomable success, he decided to quite and focus on family life, with his wife, Sabina.

He met her when he was twenty years old, as she was a journalist covering his life. She hated him, and it took him three months of pestering ('I wasn't _pestering_ her, Lore!') for her to agree to a date.

They married when he was twenty three, but didn't have kids until three years after as they both enjoyed traveling.

Mark had three children, Jason Nathaniel Haywood and he named Finn god father. Jason's twin, Addison Luna Haywood, was spoiled rotten by her godmother, Lorelai.

Then a year later, Madelyn Zoe Haywood was born, and Mark didn't even hesitate before naming Anna godmother.

He didn't completely retire, after having his kids and worked for Tutshill as assistant coach, working his way up to coach after two years, which annoyed Finn greatly, having to listen to his friend.

Lorelai

Despite _many_ near death experiences, much too Anna's annoyance, Lorelai never retired.

She worked hard and fast, getting promoted quickly. Her and Dom were a dream team, and they never did a case without the other. They had the highest case closure in the department, beating some retired Aurors in the first two years.

Their hard work paid off, and when Harry announced his retirement when Lorelai was twenty five, he also made a follow up statement that Dominique and Lorelai were to be joint Heads.

Even after being appointed Head, she was active on the field, and did her job well.

She never married, had a serious relationship or any kids. Her work and friends were her life. She spent most of her time traveling round the world on business or for fun with one of the single Wotter's or Finn.


End file.
